U.S. President Donald Trump said he could travel to Istanbul on Friday if today’s Ukraine peace talks show progress. Commenting on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s absence, Trump claimed, “If I don’t go, he won’t go either — and I was right.”

Speaking to business leaders in Doha, Trump addressed several key topics. On Syria, he defended lifting sanctions, calling Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara “a strong man” and saying Turkey and Saudi Arabia supported the decision. “Let’s see what happens, but we’ll give him a chance,” he said.

Trump also spoke about Iran, saying “serious negotiations” are ongoing and praised the Emir of Qatar for “fighting hard” to prevent conflict: “There are only two ways: smart and brutal. We want the smart one.”

He added that India proposed dropping tariffs on U.S. goods to zero, calling it “a very difficult market to sell to.”