Officials from Ukraine and Russia met Friday in Turkey for the first direct peace talks since Russia’s invasion in February 2022 sparked the more than three-year war.
The talks lasted roughly two hours, according to Turkey’s Foreign Ministry.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Turkey for the talks, but Russian President Vladimir Putin did not make the trip, sending an adviser instead.
The Associated Press reported Ukraine accused the Russians of putting forward “unacceptable demands” to withdraw Ukrainian forces from large swaths of territory, citing a senior Ukrainian official.
President Trump for days teased the possibility that he may make the trip to Turkey if he thought the discussions could produce significant progress. Ultimately, he dispatched Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg.
Trumpindicated he was not surprised Putin skipped the meetings, arguing the Russian president had no reason to go if Trump was not there.
“They all said Putin was going and Zelensky was going. And I said, ‘If I don’t go, I guarantee Putin is not going,’ and he didn’t go,” Trump told reporters earlier Friday.
“And I understand that, but we’re going to get it, we’re going to get it done,” he said. “We’ve got to get it done.”
Vice President Vance said in remarks in Washington last week that having officials from Ukraine and Russia speak directly was a key step the Trump administration was hoping to see in its efforts to end the war.
Rubio signaled Thursday that the “only way” to move closer toward peace in the region would be a meeting between the U.S. and Russian leaders. Trump said he is willing to meet directly with Putin as soon as a time could be set up.
Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.
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