Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday urged his US counterpart, Donald Trump, to help secure a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Turkey on Thursday, accusing the Russian leader of not seriously wanting to negotiate an end to the war.
Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv that the West should impose massive sanctions if Putin skips the meeting, emphasizing that he would do "everything" possible to make it happen and secure a ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be in the US delegation at the talks, which "could have some pretty good results," Trump said in Riyadh as he started a four-day Middle East trip.
The Kremlin has refused to say whether Putin will travel to Turkey after he himself proposed Russia-Ukraine talks in a late-night Kremlin address at the weekend.
"This is his war," Zelensky said in an evening address; "therefore, the negotiations should be with him," he added.
Any meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials would be the first direct negotiations since the early months of Moscow's invasion in February 2022.
Trump came to office in January promising a swift end to the war but has become increasingly frustrated at what he sees as the failure of Kyiv and Moscow to compromise over the bloodshed.
"I do not know the US president's decision, but if he confirms his participation, I think it would give additional impetus for Putin to come," Zelensky said at a press conference.
Trump said Monday that he was "thinking" about going to the talks.
'Strongest' Sanctions
Zelensky said Putin was not serious about peace.
"Putin does not want the war to end, does not want a ceasefire, and does not want any negotiations," Zelensky said, adding, however, that he "will do everything to ensure that this meeting takes place."
Russian airstrikes killed two people in Ukraine's eastern region of Kharkiv, which is on the border with Russia, authorities said
Zelensky urged the United States to hit Russia with its "strongest" ever sanctions should Putin not turn up -- saying a refusal would be "a clear signal that they do not want and are not going to end the war".
Putin's spokesman repeatedly refused to say who Moscow would send to the talks.
"Our delegation will be there and will wait for the Ukrainian side," Dmitry Peskov told state TV, adding that he would only reveal the delegation members after Putin "gives the order."
Putin spoke at a business forum and then at a cultural meeting but did not say anything about the talks in Turkey.
'De-Nazification'
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Russia would use the talks to address its key aims and the "root causes" of the conflict -- the "de-Nazification" of Ukraine and the "incorporation of new territories into the Russian Federation."
Kyiv and the West reject those narratives, saying Russia's invasion is nothing more than an imperial-style land grab.
Putin proposed Russia-Ukraine talks as a counteroffer after Kyiv and European countries urged Moscow to agree to a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting Monday.
Tens of thousands have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes since Russia invaded Ukraine, while Moscow's army now controls around one-fifth of the country -- including the Crimean Peninsula, annexed in 2014.
Putin Doesn't 'Dare' Meet
Russia did not explicitly respond to Ukraine and the leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Poland calling for Moscow to agree to a 30-day ceasefire, though the Kremlin blasted European "ultimatums" in an apparent rejection.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned Russia on Tuesday that it would face fresh European sanctions if there was no "real progress" this week towards peace in Ukraine, as he urged Putin to meet Zelensky.
The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, questioned whether Putin had the nerve to show up.
"I think it's a good move if they sit down," Kallas told a democracy conference in Copenhagen. "But I don't think he dares, Putin."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the warring sides on Monday to seize the "window of opportunity" to reach a peace settlement.
Zelensky said he would meet Erdogan in Ankara on Wednesday or Thursday and was ready to meet Putin either there or in Istanbul.
Russian and Ukrainian officials held talks in Istanbul in March 2022 aimed at halting the conflict but did not strike a deal.
Contact between the warring sides has been extremely limited since, mainly dedicated to humanitarian issues like prisoner-of-war exchanges and the return of killed soldiers' bodies.
AFP
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