After dangling the possibility of his attendance, Trump said he would stay away but still wants to meet with Putin, further weakening the Istanbul talks.

At yesterday's negotiations, the Russian delegation opened the dialogue with pressure and a list of its maximalist demands toward Ukraine. But the Ukrainian delegation managed to push back against the Russian pressure,

Russian negotiators at peace talks in Istanbul demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of all the Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire, a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks told Reuters.