Trump Vows Putin Meeting After After Disastrous Istanbul Snub
On May 16, 2025, President Donald Trump declared he intends to schedule a high-level, direct meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin after Putin conspicuously skipped critical peace negotiations in Istanbul aimed at halting the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The announcement came as Trump concluded his four-day Middle East tour, which included high-profile engagements in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar.
Speaking from Abu Dhabi before boarding Air Force One, Trump expressed urgency, stating, “It’s time for us to just do it.” The former president, who has long touted his personal rapport with Putin, hinted he might call the Russian leader mid-flight and confirmed he’s pushing for an in-person summit as soon as logistics allow. “If we don’t solve it, it’ll be very interesting,” he added ominously.
Trump emphasized that he wasn’t surprised by Putin’s absence in Turkey, rationalizing that “he’s not there.” While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to the talks and backed a proposed U.S.-mediated 30-day ceasefire, Moscow refused. Nevertheless, lower-level representatives from both countries met for the first time in over three years in Istanbul, though expectations for a breakthrough remain low.
The former president also cited the devastating human toll, noting that “five thousand young people are being killed every single week.” He positioned his potential face-to-face with Putin as the linchpin to unlocking progress, insisting, “Nothing will happen until he and I get together.”
While Trump congratulated his daughter Tiffany on the birth of her son, he stressed he’d put off meeting his grandson if a Putin summit became possible, reinforcing the spectacle of personal diplomacy over structured process.
Critics, however, note that Trump’s confidence in brokering peace has yet to yield results. Despite multiple declarations since returning to office, one must continue to wonder about the existence of the peepee tapes.