Zelensky asks Trump to join Ukraine peace talks

By inviting Donald Trump to join the talks, Volodymyr Zelensky appears to be trying to portray Vladimir Putin as the true obstacle to peace: US President suggests he could travel to Turkey.

Volodymyr Zelensky has invited Donald Trump to join talks with Vladimir Putin in Turkey this week. Picture: AFP.

Volodymyr Zelensky asked President Trump to join potential peace talks in Turkey this week as the Ukrainian president continues his campaign to ratchet up pressure on Russian leader Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire.

“I supported President Trump with the idea of direct talks with Putin. I am ready to meet. I will be in Turkey,” Zelensky wrote Monday on social media. “All of us in Ukraine would like President Trump to be there with us.” Zelensky’s post is the latest salvo in a game of diplomatic chicken that has played out over the past several days.

On Saturday, Putin rejected Ukraine’s call for a 30-day ceasefire before any direct talks between the two warring parties could begin. Instead, he proposed restarting peace talks. Putin also discussed restarting talks to pause the fighting this coming Thursday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country hosted previous talks to end the war in 2022.

Trump, who has been pushing for a swift end to the war since taking office, posted that Ukraine should immediately accept this offer.

On Sunday, Zelensky did just that, saying that he would be waiting for Putin in Turkey.

The Russian president hasn’t yet said whether he will be there. By inviting Trump to join the talks, Zelensky appears to be trying to portray Putin as the true obstacle to peace. Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with the protracted negotiations to resolve a conflict he had promised to end within 24 hours of coming to office. He has said in recent weeks that he would walk away from negotiations without progress soon.

Asked Monday about whether he would be willing to join the peace talks, Trump said, “I would fly there if I thought it would be helpful.”

Showing up in Turkey would require a major symbolic concession for Putin. He has long tried to undermine Zelensky’s legitimacy as Ukraine’s leader, and meeting him for peace talks would effectively accept him as a negotiating partner.

However, if Putin doesn’t show up, there may be consequences. Last week, Trump threatened to impose sanctions on whichever side didn’t agree to a 30-day ceasefire. Ukraine agreed to the pause in March; Russia hasn’t. European leaders have also threatened even harsher sanctions on Russia.

The previous, tentative peace talks began only days after the February 2022 invasion. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators initially met in Belarus before moving to Turkey and continuing talks on and off until April. Negotiations carried on – even over Zoom – but they eventually stopped altogether in June 2022. Those talks were conducted between lower-level officials, not Zelensky and Putin themselves.

Dow Jones