Trump says he’s still open to attending talks on Ukraine, unsure about Putin

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was still considering whether to attend talks on the war in Ukraine planned for Thursday in Turkey but he does not know whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will go.

“He’d like me to be there, and that’s a possibility. … I don’t know that he would be there if I’m not there. We’re going to find out,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Qatar.

He has said he may visit Turkey for the talks as part of his trip to the Middle East this week. U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was still considering whether to attend talks on the war in Ukraine planned for Thursday in Turkey but he does not know whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will go.

“He’d like me to be there, and that’s a possibility. … I don’t know that he would be there if I’m not there. We’re going to find out,” Trump said while traveling aboard Air Force One en route to Qatar.

Trump has said he may visit Turkey for the talks as part of his trip to the Middle East this week. He cited his next stop to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.

“We have a very full situation. Now that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t do it to save a lot of lives and come back,” Trump said, according to a pool report from the Washington Post. Trump noted that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be at Thursday’s talks in Istanbul.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday said he would only attend if Putin was also there.

On Wednesday, the Kremlin said it would send a delegation to Istanbul but did not say who would be representing Moscow.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington; Editing by Doina Chiacu)