By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
ISTANBUL/MOSCOW (Worthy News) – The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t attend Thursday peace talks in Istanbul despite calls from Ukraine and the United States to participate.
Putin’s decision not to travel to Turkey for peace talks on the war in Ukraine came as a setback for U.S. President Donald J. Trump, who had hoped to broker a peace deal to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.
Instead Russia’s delegation at Thursday’s talks in Istanbul will be headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinksy, according to a Kremlin statement.
Moments later, a source familiar with his thinking confirmed that U.S. President Trump decided not to go to Turkey for talks on ending the Russia-Ukraine war after it became clear that Putin would stay away.
On Sunday, Putin proposed holding direct negotiations with Ukraine on Thursday “without any preconditions.”
The U.S. president had toyed with the idea of going to Turkey if Putin would be there. Trump
He expressed shock about the many young people killed in the battlefields, often in trenches resembling World War I.
MEETING PUTIN
Zelenskyy had previously said he would attend the talks and meet Putin in person if the Russian president agreed.
He added he would “do everything” to ensure the face-to-face meeting occurred.
However, sources said the Ukrainian president will still meet Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Thursday in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
Putin and Zelensky have not met in person since December 2019.
Russia and Ukraine last held direct negotiations in March 2022 in Istanbul, shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbour.
More than 1 million people are believed to have been killed and injured in the armed conflict.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
A single citizen tip ignited Operation Reclaim and Rebuild, a sweeping, week-long human trafficking operation that rescued nearly 20 children, uncovered residential brothels, and led to more than 600 arrests across California, authorities said this week.
Europe reeled Sunday after newly released U.S. Justice Department files detailing the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s global contacts shook royal houses and governments, triggering resignations, investigations and political fallout across several European countries.
The Trump administration announced it will no longer abide by the expired New START nuclear arms agreement, arguing the treaty fails to restrain Russia’s expanding arsenal and excludes China’s rapidly growing nuclear forces, according to a senior State Department official.
Hungary’s main opposition leader is demanding answers over 650 billion forints ($2 billion) in disputed funds linked to foundation structures created by the Hungarian National Bank (MNB), branding the case “the world’s biggest bank robbery.”
One of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) most recognizable intelligence publications, long sought by journalists and researchers seeking factual information about countries, has suddenly disappeared.
Several Christian families in Pakistan’s Punjab province were recovering from injuries Sunday after what they described as “targeted attacks” by suspected Islamic extremists, reflecting broader pressure on Christians and other minorities in the Muslim-majority nation.
Iran’s leadership has flatly refused to abandon uranium enrichment or scale back its ballistic missile program, even as President Donald Trump intensifies a dual-track strategy of diplomacy and military pressure aimed at forcing a broader agreement with Tehran.