Trump will visit Turkey for Ukraine talks if Putin joins

RIYADH, May 14 (AFP/Reuters): US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said there was a possibility he would head to Turkey for talks on Ukraine if his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin also travelled there.
"I don't know that he (Putin) would be there if I'm not there," Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he flew from Saudi Arabia to Qatar.
"I know he would like me to be there, and that's a possibility. If we could end the war, I'd be thinking about that," he said.
Trump however noted that he was already scheduled to be in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday on the third and final leg of his Gulf tour.
But, when asked about visiting Turkey, he added: "That doesn't mean I wouldn't do it to save a lot of lives."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is already set to travel to Istanbul on Friday.
"Marco is going and Marco has been very effective," Trump said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Putin to show up in Turkey this week for a face-to-face meeting, warning that a no-show would indicate Moscow's unwillingness to seek peace.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday he was in favour of imposing new sanctions on Russia in coming days if Moscow failed to agree to a ceasefire, mentioning financial services and oil and gas as possible targets.
"Our intention is to impose new sanctions against Russia in the coming days" if Moscow refuses to implement a ceasefire, Macron said in a prime-time interview on TF1. "We are coordinating in this regard."
Macron's comments echoed those by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier on Tuesday, who said European allies would roll out "a significant tightening of sanctions" on Russia if President Vladimir Putin does not agree to a ceasefire.