Vladimir Putin rejected calls to join direct talks with Ukraine's leader in Turkey, seemingly unphased by mounting pressure from Trump to strike a peace deal.

Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t show up in Turkey on Thursday for proposed direct peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who waited for him in the capital of Ankara after challenging the Kremlin leader to face-to-face discussions on ending their 3-year-old war.

Neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor U.S. President Donald Trump look likely to attend peace talks that were due to be held in Turkey on Thursday. Putin had suggested last Sunday that he was willing to hold "direct negotiations" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul this week "without any preconditions.