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

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators were in Istanbul on Friday for what was billed as their first direct peace talks in more than three years.

Russia and Ukraine are due to hold their first direct peace talks in three years Friday. They are expected to gather in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations but officials and observers expect them to yield little immediate progress on stopping the more than 3-year war.