'Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together': Trump on Russia-Ukraine peace talks

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that any progress on potential peace talks between Ukraine and Russia will depend on a direct meeting between him and President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking aboard Air Force One before landing in Dubai, Reuters quoted Trump as saying, “Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together.”

Russia and Ukraine exchanged barbs on Thursday ahead of a tentative round of peace talks in Turkey — the first direct negotiations between the two countries in over three years.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, upon arriving in Ankara for a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, slammed Moscow for sending what he called a “decorative” delegation lacking real authority.

Meanwhile, Russian officials dismissed Zelenskyy’s challenge to President Putin to attend the talks in person, calling the Ukrainian leader “pathetic” and a “clown.”

The verbal attacks coincided with fresh claims from Moscow of further territorial gains in eastern Ukraine.

Despite growing international pressure, Putin did not travel to Turkey.

Instead, Russia’s team was led by a Kremlin aide known for his hardline stance and past statements denying Ukraine’s sovereignty. That choice further dampened hopes of any substantive progress.

“The makeup of the Russian delegation raises questions about their seriousness,” CBS News quoted Zelenskyy as saying at the Ankara airport.

“From what we see, it looks more like a decorative move,” he added.

The hostile tone and absence of senior Russian officials cast doubt over the possibility of meaningful dialogue.

The Kremlin reiterated its position that President Trump’s push for a ceasefire — which he claims he could broker in hours — has not shifted Moscow’s stance.

Trump said he might travel to Turkey on Friday if the talks showed signs of real movement.

However, the lack of engagement from top Russian diplomats like Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov or foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov signalled that Moscow was not prioritising a breakthrough.

Russia said negotiations could happen “in the second half of the day,” while Zelenskyy said he would determine Ukraine’s approach after his discussions with Erdogan.

With tensions running high and both sides entrenched, analysts warned that the Istanbul talks risk becoming more performative than productive, unless higher-level involvement emerges from both Washington and Moscow.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova swiftly responded to President Zelenskyy’s criticism of Moscow’s delegation. Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, she labelled him a “dummy,” a “clown,” and a “loser.”

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also took aim at Zelenskyy, calling him “pathetic” for urging President Putin to attend the talks in person.

“At first Zelenskyy made some kind of statements that demanded Putin come personally. Well, a pathetic person,” Lavrov was quoted as saying during a televised address to diplomats in Moscow.

Meanwhile, President Trump, who has continued to push for a quick resolution to the three-year conflict, said he may travel to Turkey if real progress is made.

“You know, if something happened, I’d go on Friday,” Trump said during a visit to Qatar on Thursday.

Speaking separately at a NATO meeting in Antalya, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed Washington’s growing impatience with the slow pace of diplomacy.

“We’re impatient,” CBS News quoted Rubio as saying, adding that the US is willing to consider “any mechanism” to bring the war to a lasting end.

Rubio is expected in Istanbul on Friday “for meetings with European counterparts to discuss the conflict in Ukraine,” the US State Department said.

With inputs from agencies