A FTER A WEEK of brinkmanship, Volodymyr Zelensky departed for peace negotiations in Turkey still unsure who he would be talking to. Vladimir Putin stayed silent for nearly four days, before turning down the Ukrainian’s dare of a face-to-face meeting.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he was not surprised that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be a no-show for anticipated peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey this week. Trump, who had pressed for Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet in Istanbul,

President Donald Trump again teased his possible attendance in Istanbul for the Russia-Ukraine peace talks on Friday

The Russian delegation has been waiting for the Ukrainian delegation for almost a day in Istanbul, while the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir Zelensky, is putting on a show in Ankara. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.

As he heads to Turkey for negotiations, Zelensky is betting that Trump will soon realize that Russia does not want to make peace.

TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has sharply criticized Vladimir Zelensky, dismissing him as a "nothing man" in response to Zelensky’s demand for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s personal presence at upcoming talks in Istanbul on Ukraine.

Following a 6.2-magnitude earthquake in Istanbul earlier this spring, the reinforcement and restoration of the celebrated religious landmark is more crucial now than ever.