JAKARTA - US President Donald Trump's senior envoy Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg will travel to Istanbul, Turkey, for possible talks on Thursday on efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine.
However, a senior US official said it was unclear whether anyone from the Russian government would attend, as reported by Reuters, Tuesday, May 13.
The White House, State Department, National Security Council and Witkoff spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously insisted he would only attend talks this week if Russian President Vladimir Putin was also present.
Moscow has not said whether Putin will go to Turkey.
Putin launched a massive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which sparked a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of troops on both sides.
When asked directly who would represent Russia in the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "Once the president deems it appropriate, we will announce it."
Senior US officials said Washington did not expect an announcement of Moscow's plans until Thursday morning.
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Trump said on Monday he would fly to Istanbul for the meeting if needed. He is in the Middle East region this week for a meeting with officials from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
US officials over the weekend urged Zelenskyy to agree to meet Putin in person in Istanbul and announce his plans publicly to demonstrate his intention to negotiate with Moscow on a peace deal.
US officials hope Russia will agree to an important 30-day land, air, sea and infrastructure ceasefire, senior US officials said, saying Kyiv had agreed to comply with the deal. The ceasefire was also supported by Europe, the official said.
If Russia does not agree to the ceasefire, the European Union threatens to impose further sanctions on Moscow, senior US officials and other senior European officials told Reuters.
The sanctions package will target Russia's shadow fleet, the European official said.
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