Volodymyr Zelensky asked President Trump to join potential peace talks in Turkey this week as the Ukrainian president continues his campaign to ratchet up pressure on Russian leader Vladimir Putin to agree to a cease-fire.

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Belarus on February 28, 2022, four days after Russia's full-scale invasion. They later held meetings by video link before meeting again in person in Istanbul on March 29. After that they exchanged multiple drafts until mid-April, before the talks broke down.

From left, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz make a call to U.S. President Donald Trump from Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, May 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)