<p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in Turkey today for what he hoped would be face-to-face negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Instead, he was met with Putin&#8217;s underlings.</p>
<p>On Sunday, Putin first proposed direct talks with Ukraine to bring the three-year war to a close during a televised address.</p>
<p>“We are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions,&#8221; Putin said. &#8220;We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already on Thursday, in Istanbul.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-trump-and-rubio-put-america-first-in-100-days?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=How+Trump+And+Rubio+Put+America+First+In+100+Days" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>HOW TRUMP AND RUBIO PUT AMERICA FIRST IN 100 DAYS</b></a></p>
<p>Zelensky <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/zelensky-offers-meet-putin-after-trump-pushes-historic-peace-talks?author=Daniel+Chaitin&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Zelensky+Agrees+To+Meet+Putin+After+Trump+Pushes+For+Historic+Peace+Talks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded by challenging</a> Putin to come to Istanbul himself for a face-to-face meeting.</p>
<p>“We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy,” Zelensky <a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1921611690891940116" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. “There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses.”</p>
<p>Instead, Russia sent aides to negotiate with the Ukrainian leader, who described them as “stand-in props,” <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c74nxrr7mwkt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported the BBC</a>.</p>
<p>In response, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said “A clown and a loser is talking about respected people.”</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ben-shapiro-confronts-zelensky-on-christian-persecution-and-conscription-in-exclusive-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BEN SHAPIRO CONFRONTS ZELENSKY ON CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION AND CONSCRIPTION IN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW</a></strong></p>
<p>Russia&#8217;s delegation will be headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, but meetings are still not officially scheduled, according to the BBC.</p>
<p>So far, Zelensky has met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara.</p>
<p>President Donald Trump also said he was skipping the meetings because of scheduling conflicts, despite <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-trumps-middle-east-trip?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=6&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Here%E2%80%99s+What+You+Need+To+Know+About+Trump%E2%80%99s+Middle+East+Trip" target="_blank" rel="noopener">floating the possibility</a> of attending earlier this week.</p>
<p>Trump said he doesn’t think it “was possible for Putin to go” if he himself wasn’t there.</p>
<p>&#8220;I actually said, why would he go if I’m not going?&#8221; Trump said, speaking at a business roundtable in Doha, Qatar during his four-day Gulf tour.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-trumps-middle-east-trip?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Here%E2%80%99s+What+You+Need+To+Know+About+Trump%E2%80%99s+Middle+East+Trip" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b>HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST TRIP</b></a></p>
<p>The President added that the war “has to stop.”</p>
<p>&#8220;We spent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/zelensky-tells-ben-shapiro-hes-open-to-an-audit-on-how-ukraine-spends-u-s-taxpayer-dollars?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Zelensky+Tells+Ben+Shapiro+He%E2%80%99s+Open+To+An+Audit+On+How+Ukraine+Spends+U.S.+Taxpayer+Dollars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$350 billion there</a> — just handed,” he said. “Nobody even knows where the money is. There’s no accounting.”</p>
<p>Trump added that Zelensky is the “greatest salesman, maybe in history” because “every time he came to the United States, he’d walk away with $100 billion.”</p>
<p>“That’s a good salesman, right?&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;Last time he didn’t do as well. He only got $60 billion.&#8221;</p>
<p>Secretary of State Marco Rubio is already in Istanbul for meetings with his NATO counterparts and he and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff were planning to be present for the Russia-Ukraine talks.</p>

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Zelensky Lands In Turkey As Putin Skips Meeting, Russia Calls Him A ‘Clown and Loser’