The Kremlin declined to say on Tuesday whether President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia would attend talks with Ukraine’s leader this week, after President Trump floated the possibility of attending himself to push for a peace deal.
Over the weekend, Mr. Putin called for direct talks with Ukraine, while ignoring demands by Kyiv and its allies to agree to an immediate cease-fire by Monday or face further sanctions. Mr. Trump then implored Ukraine to take the meeting, and President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would travel to Turkey to attend personally — challenging Mr. Putin to do the same.
But when asked on Tuesday who would lead Russia’s delegation for the talks, the Kremlin spokesman would not comment.
“As soon as the president sees it fit, we will announce” the delegation’s makeup, the spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, told Russian news agencies.
Mr. Trump’s suggestion on Monday that he, too, might travel to Turkey raised the stakes for the talks, which are expected to take place on Thursday in Istanbul.
The Trump administration has been growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in its efforts to broker a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine. Mr. Trump recently questioned whether Mr. Putin really wanted to end the war.
Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, said on Tuesday that Mr. Trump had made clear that he “expects” both Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Putin to be present for talks in Turkey.
“I believe that if Vladimir Putin refuses to come to Turkey, it will be the final signal that Russia does not want to end this war — that Russia is neither willing nor ready for any negotiations,” Mr. Yermak said in a statement.
Kyiv’s European allies have also been ramping up pressure on Moscow to agree to an unconditional 30-day truce, a proposal made by the United States in early March that Ukraine immediately accepted. On a visit to Kyiv over the weekend, European leaders said that Mr. Putin had until the end of Monday to agree and that if it did not, further sanctions would be imposed.
As of Tuesday afternoon, no new sanctions had been announced.
