Trump-Putin meeting is must to progress in peace talks: Rubio

US diplomat Marco Rubio says that Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin need to meet for progress in peace, reports BBC.

"I don't think we're going to have a breakthrough here until President Trump and President Putin interact directly on this topic," he said after a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in southern Turkey.

Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Ukraine would send a delegation for the talks in Istanbul, but criticised the "low-level" delegation being sent by Moscow.

Its head, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, insisted the Kremlin team had "all the necessary competencies".

Earlier in the day, Trump - who is visiting the Middle East - also suggested that significant progress in peace talks was unlikely until he and Putin met in person.

Asked by the BBC on board Air Force One if he was disappointed by the level of the Russian delegation, he said: "Look, nothing's going to happen until Putin and I get together".

"He wasn't going if I wasn't there and I don't believe anything's going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together," he added. "But we're going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying."

Trump said he would attend talks in Turkey on Friday if it was "appropriate" but later said he would probably return to Washington.

Delegations from Turkey, the US, Ukraine and Russia had been due to meet in Istanbul on Thursday for the first face-to-face Ukraine-Russia talks since 2022. As of Thursday evening, no time for them to take place had been set. Some reports suggest they may now happen on Friday.

Vladimir Putin proposed direct talks on 15 May in Istanbul in response to a call by European leaders and Ukraine for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire.

Zelensky then challenged Putin to meet him in person, but on Thursday the Kremlin said that the Russian president was not among officials due to travel.