Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi during the final leg of his four-day tour, President Trump stated his desire to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the ongoing conflict in Ukraine “as soon as we can set it up.”

He emphasized the urgency of the meeting, saying, “I think it’s time for us to just do it.”

Trump had previously asserted that a meeting between himself and Putin was essential to resolving the stalemate.

This comes after Putin declined an invitation from Ukrainian leader Zelenskyy to meet in Istanbul for peace negotiations. Trump suggested that Putin’s absence was contingent on his own non-attendance.

“I said, you know, they all said Putin was going, Zelensky was going, and I said, if I don’t go, I guarantee Putin’s not going. And he didn’t go,” Trump told reporters Friday.

When pressed for a specific timeframe, Trump reiterated, “as soon as we can set it up.”

Instead of Zelenskyy and Putin, a Ukrainian delegation headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov is scheduled to meet with a lower-level Russian team led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.

Officials and observers anticipate minimal immediate progress from these talks in resolving the three-year-long Russia-Ukraine war.

The two sides remain significantly divided on the conditions for ending the war. Ukraine has accepted a U.S. and European proposal for a full, 30-day ceasefire, but Putin has essentially rejected it by imposing extensive preconditions.

Meanwhile, both Ukrainian government sources and Western military analysts claim that Russian forces are preparing a new military offensive.

Following Putin’s rejection of Zelenskyy’s invitation for talks in Istanbul on Thursday, the Ukrainian president accused Moscow of lacking genuine commitment to ending the war, characterizing their low-level negotiating team as “a theater prop.”

Despite this, Zelenskyy affirmed his decision to send a team led by his defense minister to the meeting in Istanbul, emphasizing Ukraine’s determination to pursue peace efforts despite perceived Russian reluctance, amid intense diplomatic activity from both Kyiv and Moscow.

According to the Kremlin, the Russian delegation includes three other senior officials, and Putin has also appointed four lower-level officials as “experts” for the discussions.

Prior to Friday’s talks, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials confirmed a three-way meeting between Turkey, the U.S., and Ukraine took place. The U.S. delegation included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg.

Rubio expressed skepticism on Thursday about the likelihood of any significant breakthroughs in Istanbul.

“We don’t have high expectations of what will happen tomorrow. And frankly, at this point, I think it’s abundantly clear that the only way we’re going to have a breakthrough here is between President Trump and President Putin,” Rubio told reporters Thursday in Antalya, Turkey.

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