Media: Turkish officials not expecting Trump's Istanbul visit on May 15

Senior Turkish officials are not expecting a visit from Trump on May 15 to join possible Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, but they are not entirely ruling out the possibility of a trip in the coming days, particularly if Putin joins him.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity as the planning is private, said that preparations on the Turkish side are being made accordingly, as reported by Bloomberg.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he wouldn’t hold talks with Russia unless they were with Putin.

Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first direct talks in years, with Moscow coming under intensifying pressure to agree to a 30-day ceasefire.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to attend the meetings, along with envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg.

On May 14, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was not ready yet to name the Russia delegation that would attend the talks.

By Khagan Isayev