Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are both refusing to confirm whether they will be in Istanbul on Thursday to attend what could be the first direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine since the start of the war. Instead, they seem stuck in some kind of weird standoff in the hopes of embarrassing one another.
When asked Wednesday what he will do if Putin doesn’t show up, Trump seemed to hint he may not be there, either.
“I don’t know if he’s showing up, I know he would like me to be there,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “That’s a possibility.… I don’t know that he would be there if I’m not there. We’re going to find out,” the president continued, hinting that he may not be at the talks, despite previously saying he would fly to Istanbul if necessary.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov also told reporters Wednesday that a Russian delegation will be at the meetings but would not clarify who exactly until Putin gives “relevant instructions.”
The consequential peace talks were proposed by Putin on Sunday and quickly backed by Trump, though some analysts warn the proposal could be a Russian attempt to stall carrying out the 30-day ceasefire European leaders are demanding, The Washington Post reported.
“He thinks he may end up with a better set of cards in his hands, but it can of course get worse, and that is the risk for him,” Russian political analyst Vladimir Pastukhov told the Post. “His reasoning is that he is not convinced Trump will continue military aid to Ukraine.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he will attend the talks in Istanbul only if Putin himself shows up, complicating the absurd Trump-Putin standoff even further.
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