By Erin Banco, Gram Slattery and Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON/RIYADH/ANTALYA, Turkey (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump’s senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg will travel to Istanbul for potential talks on Thursday on how to end the war in Ukraine, three sources familiar with the plans said on Tuesday.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, unleashing a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides.
The envoys will attempt to revive Trump’s stalled push to broker peace in the conflict, which he has repeatedly promised to end.
U.S. officials are hoping Russia will agree to a comprehensive 30-day land, air, sea and critical infrastructure ceasefire, a senior U.S. official said, adding that Kyiv has already agreed to abide by such a deal.
The White House, State Department, National Security Council and a spokesperson for Witkoff did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that he would only attend the talks if Russia’s Vladimir Putin is also there, challenging the Kremlin to show it is genuine about seeking peace.
A senior U.S. official said it was unclear who would represent Russia and that Washington did not expect an announcement about Moscow’s plans until early Thursday morning.
Moscow has not said whether Putin will travel to Turkey.
Asked directly on Tuesday who would represent Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "As soon as the president sees fit, we will announce it."
Kellogg, in an interview on Fox Business Network’s Mornings with Maria on Tuesday, said Zelenskiy would be at the meeting in Istanbul on Thursday and that, if Putin shows up, Trump would join the talks.
"We’re hoping President Putin shows up as well, and then President Trump will be there. This could be an absolutely incredible meeting," he said. "We can get peace, I really believe, pretty fast if all three leaders sit down and talk."
Trump had said on Monday he would fly to Istanbul for the meeting if necessary. He is in the Middle East region this week for meetings with officials from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
U.S. officials over the weekend had urged Zelenskiy to agree to meet Putin in person in Istanbul and to announce his plans publicly to openly show his intentions to negotiate with Moscow on a peace deal.
European leaders last weekend threatened massive sanctions in coordination with the United States should Russia refuse a ceasefire.
European diplomats said that the European Commission has been tasked with putting together tougher sanctions proposals after a 17th package of sanctions is adopted later this month.
They said the Europeans would now wait to see what happens on Thursday, but added it was crucial to coordinate with Washington on sanctions.