President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that if President Trump attended the talks, it would put pressure Russia’s leader, Vladimir V. Putin, to meet face-to-face.

The president said he's optimistic about Thursday's expected talks between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky in Istanbul.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky raised the stakes ahead of a potential meeting with Vladimir Putin in Turkey on Thursday by saying he wouldn’t hold talks with any Russian representative other than the president himself.