Ahead of the talks in Turkey, now scheduled for Friday, Secretary of State Macro Rubio expressed doubt, noting that neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor President were planning to attend.

The peace talks, originally planned for Thursday, were thrown into confusion when the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, including Ukrainian President, arrived in different Turkish cities. Confirmation came that neither Putin nor senior Kremlin officials would participate.

Reports indicate that frustration mounted as delegations and mediators spent much of Thursday questioning when, or if, they would meet, leading to the postponement of the meeting to Friday.

“Frankly, it’s very clear that a breakthrough can only be achieved through engagement between President Trump and,” Rubio told reporters. “That level of engagement is necessary to make progress.”

“I don’t anticipate any real progress until they have a direct and honest conversation, which I know President Trump is prepared to do,” he added.

The peace talks were initially suggested by Putin last week, who proposed direct talks between Ukraine and Russia. and stated that the leaders of the warring nations should lead these discussions.

Earlier in the week, Trump raised eyebrows when from the UAE about progress in the Thursday talks, though it was never suggested that the U.S. president, nearing the end of a Middle East tour, would be present at the negotiations.

On Thursday, the Kremlin confirmed Putin’s non-participation in the peace talks.

Aboard suggested Putin’s absence was due to a scheduling misunderstanding, telling reporters that meaningful progress was unlikely until he and Putin spoke.

“Look, nothing will happen until Putin and I meet. OK?” Trump said. “He intended to attend, but believed I would be there as well. He wouldn’t go if I wasn’t present.”

“I don’t think anything will happen, whether you agree or not, until he and I get together,” he added.

Future plans for a Trump-Putin conversation remain uncertain.

“What I can say for sure is that the president is willing to pursue this until peace is achieved,”. “However, we cannot continue traveling around the world for unproductive meetings.”

“The only path to a breakthrough is President Trump sitting face to face with President Putin, determining definitively whether there is a,” he added.

Zelenskyy openly expressed his frustration, calling it proof of Putin’s “unserious attitude.”

“No meeting time, no agenda, no high-level delegation – this is personal disrespect to Erdoğan, to Trump,” Zelenskyy at a Thursday news conference after meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“`