Trump says he "may" call putin to discuss ending war in Ukraine

US President Donald Trump said he "may" call russian leader vladimir putin to discuss ending russia's war in Ukraine.

He told this to reporters on May 16 aboard Air Force One during a departure from Abu Dhabi, CNN reported.

"We have to meet. He and I will meet," he said.

Trump added: "I think we’ll solve it, or maybe not, but at least we’ll know. And if we don’t solve it, it will be very interesting."

Recall that Trump previously said that he plans to meet with putin "as soon as we can organize it."

Meanwhile, the US and russia held brief working-level talks in Istanbul on the eve of direct talks between russia and Ukraine. The US State Department's Director of Policy Planning Staff, Michael Anton, met with kremlin aide vladimir medinsky for only 15 minutes.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on May 11, kremlin leader vladimir putin publicly proposed resuming direct talks with Ukraine on May 15. According to putin, the venue for the talks should be Istanbul, a city where previous rounds of dialogue were held in 2022.

Today, May 16, trilateral talks between delegations of Ukraine, the United States of America (US), and Turkey were held in Istanbul.

Reuters, citing a Ukrainian source, reported that Ukraine will make a ceasefire a priority in talks with the russian delegation in Istanbul on May 16, and will also raise the issue of a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and russian leader vladimir putin.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that Ukraine is ready for direct talks with the aggressor country russia at the highest level. Peace is possible if the russian federation agrees to a complete ceasefire and humanitarian steps.