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

Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russia's delegation at Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, said on Friday after the negotiations that Moscow was satisfied with the results and was ready to keep talking to Kyiv.

Ukraine and Russia began their meeting in Istanbul on Friday, the first attempt at a ceasefire negotiation in a format that also includes representatives of the US and Turkey.  The head of Ukraine’s delegation Rustem Umerov said the Kyiv team already met with the US Special Representative Keith Kellogg,