Trump says he can come to Istanbul on Friday

US President Donald Trump has said he is ready to come to Istanbul on Friday 16 May, for talks on the Russia-Ukraine war.

"And I said: ‘I don’t think he’s going to go if I don’t go’, and that turned out to be right. [...] If something happened I would go on Friday if it was appropriate," Trump said, as quoted by the Turkish TV channel NTV.

The US president made this statement in the Qatari capital of Doha before leaving the country as part of his Middle East tour.

The statement came amid speculation about Trump's participation in the Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul.

On 14 May, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin approved the composition of the Russian delegation for talks with Ukraine in Türkiye on 15 May. Putin himself is not on the list.

Following this decision by the Kremlin, US President Donald Trump also decided not to travel to Türkiye, although he had previously said he would reflect on the visit if Putin attended.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on 15 May. Earlier, Zelenskyy said that he was ready to come to Istanbul if Putin came there.