Trump considers flying to Istanbul for Russia-Ukraine meeting

According to TASS, US President Donald Trump is considering a trip to Türkiye on May 15, where a meeting between representatives of Ukraine and Russia could take place.

“I insist that this meeting between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul must take place, and it will take place. I think the outcome of the meeting on May 15 in Türkiye between Russia and Ukraine will be good. I believe that both the leaders of Russia and Ukraine will be there. I have thought about flying there,” President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on May 12.

Mr Trump said he did not yet know where he would be on May 15 because he had a lot of meetings. At the same time, he thought about a trip to Istanbul and admitted that it was a possibility.

The US leader also made it clear that he could go to Istanbul if it would be helpful for the talks.

Meanwhile, Federation Council Deputy Speaker Konstantin Kosachev said that the talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul could progress further than in 2022 if Kiev abandons the ultimatum and starts seeking common ground with Russia.

“There is already experience from the first Istanbul, and these negotiations have progressed to a certain point. It is known that a common understanding has been reached on a large number of positions and that the document was initialed by the head of the Ukrainian delegation before it was withdrawn. But if the Ukrainian delegation had appeared at these negotiations with an attitude of abandoning all ultimatums and seeking common ground, I am sure that we could have gone much further than what was done in March 2022,” Kosachev said.

The senator stressed that there is one point in these negotiations, in terms of "Istanbul 2.0" - taking into account the situation on the line of contact and the position of Ukraine after the end of the negotiation process.