Rubio Doubts 'anything Productive' Will Happen In Ukraine Peace Talks Without Trump, Putin

Secretary of State Macro Rubio formed a pessimistic reside up of talks successful Turkey now group for Friday aft some Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump said they would not beryllium successful attendance. 

The bid talks, which were expected to hap connected Thursday, sewage thrown into disarray aft some Russian and Ukrainian delegations, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, landed successful various cities successful Turkey arsenic confirmation arrived that not only would Putin not beryllium engaging successful nan discussions, but neither would elder members from nan Kremlin.

According to reports, vexation grew arsenic nan delegations and mediators spent overmuch of nan time questioning when, and moreover whether, they would meet connected Thursday earlier nan gathering was yet pushed to Friday.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en way from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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"Frankly, astatine this point, I deliberation it's abundantly clear that nan only measurement we're going to person a breakthrough present is betwixt President Trump and President Putin," Rubio told reporters. "It's going to require that level of engagement to person a breakthrough successful this matter. 

"I don't deliberation thing productive is really going to hap from this constituent forward… until they prosecute successful a very frank and nonstop conversation, which I cognize President Trump is consenting to do," he added. 

The bid talks first came astir aft Putin suggested past week that Ukraine and Russia should prosecute successful nonstop talks. Zelenskyy agreed and said those talks should beryllium held by nan leaders of nan warring nations. 

Trump sparked astonishment earlier this week erstwhile he suggested he mightiness recreation to Turkey from nan UAE if advancement was made successful nan talks connected Thursday, but it was ne'er antecedently suggested that nan U.S. president, who was group to beryllium wrapping up a Middle East tour, would beryllium coming for nan negotiations. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy astatine nan Presidential Complex successful Ankara, Turkey, connected May 15, 2025. (Turkish Presidency/Murat Kula/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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The Kremlin connected Thursday confirmed Putin was not going to participate successful nan bid talks. 

Aboard Air Force One connected Thursday, Trump suggested Putin did not be because of a scheduling miscommunication and told reporters that location was nary dream connected immoderate existent advancement successful negotiations until he and Putin speak.

"Look, nothing's going to hap until Putin and I get together. OK?" Trump said. "He was going to go, but he thought I was going to go. He wasn't going if I wasn't there. 

"I don't judge anything's going to happen, whether you for illustration it aliases not, until he and I get together," he added.

Any early plans for Trump and Putin to talk stay unknown.

"What I tin opportunity pinch certainty is that nan president's… consenting to instrumentality pinch [this] arsenic agelong arsenic it takes to execute peace," Rubio said. "What we cannot do, however, is proceed to alert each complete nan world and prosecute successful meetings that are not going to beryllium productive.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to nan media pursuing a gathering of NATO overseas ministers successful Antalya, connected May 15, 2025, up of imaginable bid talks betwixt Ukraine and Russia successful Turkey. (Umit Bektas/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

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"The only measurement we're going to person a breakthrough present is pinch President Trump sitting look to look pinch President Putin and determining erstwhile and for each whether there's a path to peace," he added.

Zelenskyy did not clasp backmost successful expressing his vexation complete what he said is impervious that Putin’s "attitude is unserious."

"No clip of nan meeting, nary agenda, nary high-level of delegation – this is individual disrespect to Erdoğan, to Trump," Zelenskyy reportedly said astatine a Thursday news convention aft gathering pinch Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.