US President Donald Trump’s offer to take part in proposed peace talks between Ukraine and Russia has prompted a burst of diplomatic efforts, as nations across Europe and the Middle East explore a potential resolution to the deadliest European conflict since World War Two.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine. Following Trump’s public appeal to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to accept the offer, Zelenskiy agreed—on the condition that Putin participate in person.
In a move that surprised many on Monday, Trump—who is visiting Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar this week—offered to join the peace talks in Istanbul, a city long regarded as a strategic bridge between Europe and Asia.
“I’ve got so many meetings, but I was thinking about actually flying over there. There’s a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen, but we’ve got to get it done,” Trump said, speaking ahead of his departure on his second foreign tour since beginning his second term in January.
“Don’t underestimate Thursday in Turkey,” he added.
Trump’s remarks spurred swift international consultations. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held discussions with foreign ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Poland, and the European Union’s foreign policy chief to explore options for a ceasefire.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also joined the talks, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov conferred with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan. The Kremlin expressed gratitude to China, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar for their continued mediation efforts.
Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sparked a war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and marked the most serious confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
Reuters previously reported that Putin was open to discussing a ceasefire with Trump, though Moscow has ruled out major territorial concessions and continues to demand that Kyiv abandon its bid to join NATO.