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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
ISTANBUL/MOSCOW (Worthy News) – The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t attend Thursday peace talks in Istanbul despite calls from Ukraine and the United States to participate.
Putin’s decision not to travel to Turkey for peace talks on the war in Ukraine came as a setback for U.S. President Donald J. Trump, who had hoped to broker a peace deal to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.
Instead Russia’s delegation at Thursday’s talks in Istanbul will be headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinksy, according to a Kremlin statement.
Moments later, a source familiar with his thinking confirmed that U.S. President Trump decided not to go to Turkey for talks on ending the Russia-Ukraine war after it became clear that Putin would stay away.
On Sunday, Putin proposed holding direct negotiations with Ukraine on Thursday “without any preconditions.”
The U.S. president had toyed with the idea of going to Turkey if Putin would be there. Trump
He expressed shock about the many young people killed in the battlefields, often in trenches resembling World War I.
MEETING PUTIN
Zelenskyy had previously said he would attend the talks and meet Putin in person if the Russian president agreed.
He added he would “do everything” to ensure the face-to-face meeting occurred.
However, sources said the Ukrainian president will still meet Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Thursday in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
Putin and Zelensky have not met in person since December 2019.
Russia and Ukraine last held direct negotiations in March 2022 in Istanbul, shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbour.
More than 1 million people are believed to have been killed and injured in the armed conflict.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire that was to begin Friday afternoon, Worthy News learned.
At least 10 people, including four children, were injured in a Russian strike on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, Ukrainian authorities said Friday. In southern Ukraine, the State Emergency Service reported that one person was killed and four others were injured in a separate Russian attack on the Odesa region.
President Donald Trump signed the temporary peace deal with Iran ahead of schedule Wednesday at the Palace of Versailles in France, kicking off negotiations over a final nuclear deal.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s statement following the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the United States is being viewed by analysts not as an embrace of peace, but as a carefully crafted declaration that preserves Tehran’s revolutionary posture while allowing the regime to regroup.
The United States imposed new sanctions Thursday on individuals and entities linked to Hezbollah, accusing them of using political and financial influence to obstruct Lebanon’s peace process and delay the Iran-backed group’s disarmament.
Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks on Moscow since the war began, hitting a key oil refinery and other targets around the Russian capital, leaving at least one person dead and numerous others injured, Russian officials said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Southeast Asian leaders in Kazan this week as Moscow moved to deepen ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and promote its vision of a “multipolar world order” aimed at countering U.S. global dominance.
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