Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to take part in the talks as Trump pressed for the leaders to find a solution to the war, ongoing since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But Putin spurned the call to meet face-to-face with Zelenskyy.

Trump expressed his desire for a face-to-face meeting after Putin declined to join the Russia-Ukraine talks scheduled for Friday in Turkey.

Responding to reporters’ questions about Putin’s decision not to travel to Türkiye, Trump said he was not surprised. “I actually said why should he go if I'm not going? I wasn't going to go. I could have gone,