Rubio, Witkoff to arrive in Turkey on Friday, Reuters correspondent reports

According to Reuters correspondent Phil Stewart, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Donald Trump’s Special Representative Steve Witkoff are set to visit Istanbul on May 16, one day after the expected Ukraine-Russia negotiations scheduled for May 15.

Stewart also mentioned that Witkoff remains unsure whether Russian ruler Vladimir Putin will attend the talks.

Trump’s statements about potential negotiations

During his visit to Saudi Arabia, Donald Trump stated that the potential Ukraine-Russia talks in Turkey could yield "quite good results."

"It’s very important that the negotiations will take place in Turkey later this week, probably on Thursday, and they could lead to quite good results. Our people will go there. Marco will go there. Others will go too, and we’ll see if we can make it happen," Trump said.

The White House added that Secretary of State Rubio will be accompanied by Kellogg and Witkoff.

The U.S. president also remarked, "On average, 5,000 people are dying every week, and I want to stop that."

Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Istanbul

In a nighttime address on May 11, Russian leader Vladimir Putin claimed he was ready for direct talks with Ukraine in Turkey next week, but he dismissed the idea of a 30-day truce. In response, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would keep working with both sides and predicted that the coming week would be “great.”

On May 12, the German government announced that if Russia did not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine by the end of the day, European partners would begin preparations for new sanctions. In contrast, the Kremlin stated that “the language of ultimatums is unacceptable for Russia.”

Advisor to the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would not meet with any Russian representative other than Vladimir Putin in Turkey on May 15.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the talks in Istanbul with Kyiv should recognize the "realities on the ground," including Russia’s incorporation of Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed he will visit Turkey on May 15 to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He also said he is ready to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.