For days, President Donald Trump repeatedly floated the possibility of scrapping his Middle East travel schedule — one his team meticulously crafted for weeks — and adding a stop to personally mediate Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Turkey.

Moscow thinks it’s winning in Ukraine and can play hardball diplomatically. Washington sees costly, incremental gains and an unrealistic negotiating position.

Russia has called for direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul, but Ukraine’s European allies maintain Putin needs to be pressured into a ceasefire first.

Leaders of four major European countries visited Kyiv, amid a push for Moscow to agree to a truce and launch peace talks on ending the nearly three-year conflict.

The Ukrainian president claimed he was ready to travel to Turkey to meet with Russia’s leader, but he also insisted on an immediate truce before negotiations can begin.