"Putin feels that he has a destiny to recreate the Russian Empire," former Defense Secretary Robert Gates told "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."

ISTANBUL − Russia's Vladimir Putin spurned a challenge to meet face-to-face with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Turkey, instead sending a second-tier delegation to planned peace talks, while Ukraine's president said his defence minister would head up Kyiv's team.

The Kremlin said on Friday that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump was essential to make progress on Ukraine and other issues, but needed preparation and had to yield results when it happened.