Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky raised the stakes ahead of a potential meeting with Vladimir Putin in Turkey by saying he wouldn’t hold talks with any Russian representative other than the president himself.

The president said he's optimistic about Thursday's expected talks between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky in Istanbul.

That meeting wasn’t going to take place,” Trump told reporters Monday. “I insisted that that meeting take place, and it is taking place.”