Thursday | May 15, 2025
Trump Says Russia-Ukraine Peace Hinges on Direct Meeting with Putin
During a conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One as he landed in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, former President Donald Trump asserted that meaningful progress in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine would not happen without a direct meeting between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I sit down together, ok?” Trump said. “Obviously — he wasn’t going to go. He was going to go, but then he thought I was going. He wasn’t going if I wasn’t there. And I really don’t believe anything’s going to move forward, whether you like it or not, until he and I meet. But we have to resolve this — too many people are dying.”
Trump’s comments came in response to reports that the Russian delegation participating in high-level peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey earlier that day did not include Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had also insisted he would not engage with any Russian representatives other than Putin, dismissing Thursday’s attendees as a “phony” delegation.
Despite Putin’s absence, Trump said he was unbothered by the development. “I’m not disappointed in anything,” he told reporters. “Why would I be disappointed? We just took in $4 trillion, and you’re asking me about a delegation? I don’t even know anything about the delegation — I haven’t looked into it.”
Earlier that day, Trump had also suggested that a visit to Turkey remained a possibility, contradicting statements from senior officials who said no such trip was planned. Speaking at a business roundtable in Doha, Qatar, he said, “If something happened, I’d go on Friday if it was appropriate.”
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he could end the Russia-Ukraine war on his first day back in office — a vow he has since tempered, acknowledging it was an exaggeration. Nonetheless, he continues to maintain that his personal rapport with world leaders, particularly Putin, uniquely positions him to help bring the conflict to an end.