Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One today, President Donald Trump said “nothing is going to happen” on peace talks between Russia and Ukraine until he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin’s decision not to attend personally has now led to a war of words between the two opposing administrations. The BBC has reported that Zelensky has described the Russian delegation to Istanbul as “stand-in props”, and that “ Russia has unfortunately sent a rather low level delegation with an unclear mandate”.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski believes that Russian ruler Vladimir Putin is not sincere about peace talks with Ukraine and is mocking US President Donald Trump. Source: Polish news agency PAP,

President Donald Trump has repeatedly floated the possibility of scrapping his Middle East travel schedule and adding a stop to personally mediate Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Turkey.

Ahead of peace talks in Turkey, the 'manipulative' Russian president has been secretive about his attendance. Two experts explain his thinking