President Donald Trump said Friday he's moving to set up direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as he can.
Trump's push for a face-to-face meeting comes after Putin opted to skip talks between Russia and Ukraine set for Friday in Turkey.
"I think it's time for us to just do it," Trump told reporters as he wrapped a four-day visit to the Middle East.
Trump reiterated that he wasn't surprised that Putin skipped out on the talks. Putin didn't want to go because he's not there, Trump said.
Trump added that he would hold a meeting with Putin "as soon as we can set it up."