Putin, Trump to skip Russia-Ukraine peace negotiation: Will Zelensky show up? What to expect from first direct talks?

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump will skip the first direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv in three years on Thursday. Instead, the Kremlin will be represented by a delegation of seasoned technocrats in Turkey. Here's look at the top developments:

Putin, Trump to skip the meet

While Putin had never confirmed he would attend in person, there were high speculations around it as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged him to join the peace talks.

Kremlin on Wednesday said the delegation would include presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky and Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin.

After the Kremlin's delegation announcement, a US official said Trump would not attend - days after saying that he was considering the trip.

Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday that he might join the talks in Istanbul on Thursday while in the region.

"I've got so many meetings, but I was thinking about actually flying over there. There's a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen, but we've got to get it done," he said.

The absence of the Russian and United States presidents lowers the expectations for a major breakthrough in the war that Russia started in February 2022.

Will Zelensky join the meet?

It remains uncertain whether Zelensky will attend the meeting, as on Tuesday he clearly stated that he would not consider meeting any other Russian representatives because “everything in Russia depends” on Putin.

“So I said that on (Thursday) I will go to Turkey and I’m ready to meet Putin and an end to the war was through direct talks with him,” Zelensky told reporters at a news conference.

Trump, who is growing increasingly frustrated with both Russia and Ukraine as he tries to push them towards a peace settlement, said he was "always considering" secondary sanctions against Moscow if he thought it was blocking the process.

Trump wants the two sides to sign up to a 30-day ceasefire to pause Europe's biggest land war since World War Two, and a Russian lawmaker said on Wednesday there could also be discussions about a huge prisoner of war exchange.

Zelensky backs an immediate 30-day ceasefire, but Putin has said he first wants to start talks at which the details of such a ceasefire could be discussed.