US President Donald Trump said he would like to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin “as soon as we can set it up”.
Mr Trump has repeatedly said he was willing to travel to Turkey to join the first direct Russian-Ukrainian peace talks in more than three years.
He has insisted that “nothing’s going to happen” before he meets the Russian president face-to-face.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky travelled to Turkey but said he would not attend the talks, after his Russian counterpart declined his calls for face-to-face negotiations.
Mr Zelensky had dared Mr Putin to show up and negotiate directly to prove he was serious about peace.
Mr Putin had proposed…