Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives in Turkey for talks

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy landed in Turkey on Thursday, after he challenged Russian president Vladimir Putin over the weekend to meet him personally.

Zelenskyy said that he still hopes for a ceasefire with Russia starting Monday, and that he will “be waiting for Putin” in Turkey “personally” after US president Donald Trump insisted Ukraine accept Russia’s latest offer — to hold direct talks in Turkey on Thursday.

Ukraine, along with European allies, had demanded Russia accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire ahead of the talks.

Moscow effectively rejected the proposal and called for direct negotiations instead. It was not clear if Zelenskyy was conditioning his presence in Turkey on the Monday ceasefire holding, and there was no immediate comment from the Kremlin on whether Putin would go.

In 2022, the war’s early months, Zelenskyy repeatedly called for a personal meeting with the Russian president but was rebuffed, and eventually enacted a decree declaring that holding negotiations with Putin had become impossible.

“We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy. There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in (Turkey) on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses,” Zelenskyy wrote on X on Sunday.