Trump May Attend Russia-Ukraine Meeting In Istanbul

• 13.05.2025, 8:36

The U.S. president said he had a premonition.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he may attend talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul if his presence at those talks would be useful, Radio Liberty reported.

On Monday, President Trump set off on the first international trip of his second presidency, during which he will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The president said he is considering the possibility of also visiting Istanbul, where talks between representatives of Russia and Kiev are scheduled to take place on May 15. "I don't know where I'll be at that point, somewhere in the Middle East," Donald Trump said, "but I'll fly there if I think it would help."

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky announced his participation in those talks and urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet with him in Istanbul.

President Trump said he expects the presidents of Russia and Ukraine to attend the meeting and agree to a 30-day cease-fire. "I have a hunch," Donald Trump emphasized while speaking to reporters.

On May 10, after talks in Kiev, the heads of Britain, Germany, France, Poland and Ukraine demanded that Russia agree to a 30-day ceasefire and warned that if it refused to cease fire on May 12, they would impose tougher sanctions on the banking and energy sectors of the Russian economy. Donald Trump's administration has not publicly acceded to this warning. On May 11, Trump wrote on his Truth Social media page that these talks would at least "determine if a deal is possible and if it is not, European leaders and the United States will know how things stand and will act appropriately."