MWE Correspondent
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he is working to arrange direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as possible.
Trump’s initiative for a face-to-face meeting follows Putin’s decision to skip the scheduled talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey on Friday.
“I think it’s time for us to just do it,” Trump told reporters during his four-day visit to the Middle East.
He emphasized that he wasn’t surprised by Putin’s absence, stating, “Putin didn’t want to go because he’s not there.”
Trump expressed his intention to hold a meeting with Putin “as soon as we can set it up,” adding, “I would actually leave here and go.” He also mentioned that his daughter Tiffany recently gave birth to her first child, saying, “I do want to see my beautiful grandson.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to participate in the talks as Trump urged the leaders to seek a resolution. However, Putin declined the invitation to meet face-to-face with Zelenskyy.
Trump has urged both sides to swiftly reach a war-ending agreement. Zelenskyy has accepted an American proposal for an initial 30-day ceasefire, but Russia has not agreed and has continued to target locations within Ukraine.
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Despite this, Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first direct peace talks in three years on Friday, meeting in Istanbul for negotiations. Officials and observers anticipate that little immediate progress will be made in ending the more than three-year conflict.
“He didn’t go, and I understand that,” Trump stated. “We’re going to get it done. We have to get it done. Five thousand young people are being killed every week on average, and we’re going to get it done.”
On Thursday, Trump told reporters that a meeting between him and Putin was essential to breaking the deadlock.
“I don’t believe anything will happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I meet,” Trump said. “But we need to resolve this because too many people are dying.”
