Zelensky said he would attend the peace talks but only if Putin were present. Putin first proposed direct negotiations in Turkey “without any preconditions” on Sunday but he did not say who would attend from Moscow’s side.

The Ukrainian president said he would be waiting for Vladimir Putin at peace talks proposed by the Russian president in Istanbul.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that if President Trump attended the talks, it would put pressure Russia’s leader, Vladimir V. Putin, to meet face-to-face.