Ukraine ceasefire talks stumble as Putin rebuffs Zelenskyy

“I am here — we are ready for direct negotiations,” Zelenskyy said. “Let's meet.”

“We can't run around the world looking for him [Putin],” the Ukrainian president told reporters.

He called on non-Western powers like China and Brazil to put pressure on Russia, which he said was the only country in the world that wanted to see the war continue.

“Russia does not feel that it needs to end (the war), which means there is not enough political, economic and other pressure on the Russian Federation,” Zelenskyy said, as reported by British media. “And so we ask, if there is no ceasefire, if there are no serious decisions ... we ask for appropriate sanctions.”

But Zelenskyy seemed to doubt diplomacy would work with Russia, which he portrayed as a savage invader.

“For a long time, it's not been usual diplomacy,” he said, as translated via Sky News. “We're dealing with people who came undiplomatically to ruin us, ruin our history, our identity, our families.”

He added: “They want to push their history on us and destroy something that is dear to us. That's why in all wars there is a first step. As President Trump says, let's stop the killing. Let's stop the killing, and that's why we need an unconditional ceasefire.”

Russian officials have said they are willing to open negotiations, but they insist the “root causes” of the war must be dealt with before any agreement can be reached. For the Kremlin, the “root causes” relate to Ukraine's desire to sever ties with Russia and join the European Union and NATO.

“We are ready to work, to resume the Istanbul talks. We are ready for possible compromises, to discuss them,” Medinsky said on Russian state television.

Earlier in the week, Trump hinted during a trip to the Middle East that he might fly to join the Istanbul negotiations if Putin were present. On Thursday, Trump downplayed Putin's decision not to go in person.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One before landing in Abu Dhabi, Trump said it looked like he would need to meet Putin in person to end the war.

“I don’t believe anything’s going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together,” Trump said.

Still, he hoped the Ukrainian, Russian and American delegations would meet and find agreement in Istanbul.

“It has to stop,” he said about the conflict.

But reaching a diplomatic solution any time soon remains highly improbable as both Putin and Zelenskyy refuse to budge from their opposing positions.

Putin wants Ukraine to cede territory his troops have occupied in eastern Ukraine, including Crimea, give up its NATO ambitions, limit the size of its military and recognize the rights of Russian-speakers in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy wants to see the war frozen on the current frontlines but refuses to cede any territory and says Ukraine will only be safe once it is protected by NATO. He is also pushing to get Putin and other Russian officials prosecuted for war crimes.

If ceasefire talks break down completely, it is possible the war may escalate even further should European leaders convince Trump that even tougher measures must be taken against Russia to stop it from seizing even more Ukrainian territory.

On the battlefield, Russian forces are making significant advances and have captured numerous villages in recent weeks. Still, the front line is shifting only slightly, but there is the possibility the advances may become even more significant as Russia mounts a major offensive that could last through the summer.

For now, the Trump administration is pushing ahead with diplomatic efforts.

“I will say this, and I’ll repeat it, that there is no military solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” Rubio told reporters in Turkey. “This war is going to end not through a military solution but through a diplomatic one, and the sooner an agreement can be reached on ending this war, the less people will die and the less destruction there will be. And ultimately that’s what the president’s goal is.”

Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.

Follow @cainburdeau