President Trump on Sunday urged Ukrainian leaders to agree to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkey later this week to negotiate an end to the 3-year conflict.
“President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH. Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said on TruthSocial.
Trump added in the post that the meeting would help “determine whether or not a deal is possible” so European and American leaders can determine “where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!”
“I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War ll, which could not have been won (not even close!) without the United States of America. HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!!” Trump added.
Trump’s post came after Putin on Sunday proposed direct talks with Ukraine on Thursday in Istanbul “to achieve the restoration of a long-term, lasting peace.” Russia also launched drone attacks on Kyiv, the Associated Press reported, just hours after Putin proposed the talks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed Russia’s offer for direct peace talks, but insisted there must be a full, temporary ceasefire first, according to the AP.
On Monday, Trump spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan about efforts to end the war in Ukraine, stating on TruthSocial that he had a “very good and productive telephone conversation” that covered the war between Russia and Ukraine, the situation in Syria and Gaza.
Trump said he was invited to visit Turkey and extended an invitation for Erdoğan to come to Washington.
“In any event, I look forward to working with President Erdoğan on getting the ridiculous, but deadly, War between Russia and Ukraine ended — NOW!” Trump posted.
Turkey is a NATO member that has attempted to maintain relations with both Ukraine and Russia throughout the conflict.
Trump has recently continued to express optimism that there could be a deal to end the fighting in Ukraine. Still, he and other officials have also acknowledged the U.S. may step back from its efforts to broker a ceasefire if there is no progress.
“I do believe we’re closer with one party. And maybe not as close with the other, but we’ll have to see,” Trump said in an interview with “Meet the Press” that aired on May 4. “Five thousand soldiers a week on average, are dying. They’re not American soldiers, but I want to solve the problem.”
On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s office said in a press release that he would be accompanying Trump to Saudi Arabia and Qatar this week before heading to Turkey to attend the NATO Informal Foreign Ministers Meeting.
There, Rubio is expected to discuss “security priorities for the Alliance, including increased Allied defense investment and ending the Russia-Ukraine war,” the statement read.
Earlier this month, Rubio indicated he believed that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is still on the horizon but noted the eastern European nations are still very much at odds with “no military solution.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
