May 16 (UPI) -- Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine finally got underway a day late in Instanbul on Friday with expectations at rock bottom after U.S. President Donald Trump said "nothing's going to happen" until he got together with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A meeting between Turkey, Ukraine and the United States, represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy for Ukraine Gen. Keith Kellogg, at the historic Dolmabahce Palace was set to be followed by direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials scheduled for 11.45 a.m. local time.
The negotiations had been due to start Thursday but were postponed as the sides accused each other of working to derail the effort with Ukrainian President Zelensky, in particular, criticizing Putin for not attending talks he himself proposed.
Speaking Friday at a U.S.-UAE Business Council breakfast roundtable at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi, Trump said he regretted that Putin had not made the journey to Istanbul but vowed to meet with him "as soon as we can" to get the process back on track.
Related
"They all said Putin was going and Zelensky was going. I said, 'If I don't go, I guarantee Putin's not going.' And he didn't go. I understand that. But we're going to get it done.
"I would actually leave here and go," Trump said, explaining there were a "couple of situations that we have here [in the Middle East]," that he needed to handle.
"I will tell you the world is a much safer place right now. And I think in two or three weeks we could have it be a much, much safer place," he said.
On Sunday, Putin proposed talks in Turkey on Thursday, the first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in three years, after leaders from Britain, France, Germany and Poland visiting Kyiv issued an ultimatum to Russia to agree to a 30-day unconditional cease-fire, or face more sanctions.
Zelensky welcomed the offer but threw down a challenge to Putin, saying he wanted a face-to-face meeting and that he would be there in person, "waiting for Putin in Turkey on Thursday."
Zelensky traveled to Ankara on Thursday, accompanied by a negotiation team headed by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, where he held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After the Kremlin confirmed Putin would not be coming to the talks, the delegation flew onto to Istanbul minus Zelensky.
He departed for Tirana, Albania, instead to attend a European Political Community Summit on Friday.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday he would press ahead with Russia sanctions next week.
"The fact that President Zelensky traveled to Turkey despite this, is an enormous gesture. Putin didn't show up -- and that put him in the wrong. A new sanctions package is ready. We will adopt it in Brussels on Tuesday," he said in a post on X.
Speaking Thursday evening in Antalya in southwestern Turkey where he was attending a NATO gathering, Rubio said he did not expect any significant progress from the talks without Trump getting involved directly, according to a State Department news release.
He said he hoped there would be talks Friday between Ukraine and what he called "a lower level" Russian delegation, hosted by Turkey, and with appropriate U.S. representation in the room.
"But I want to be frank. I don't think -- we don't have high expectations of what will happen tomorrow. And frankly, at this point, I think it's abundantly clear that the only way we're going to have a breakthrough here is between President Trump and President Putin," said Rubio.
"It's going to require that level of engagement to have a breakthrough in this matter. I don't think anything productive is actually going to happen from this point forward, all that, until they engage in a very frank and direct conversation, which I know President Trump is willing to do."
