Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded guardedly on Sunday (May 11) to a proposal from Russian President Vladimir Putin of rapid direct talks aimed at ending the war, saying Kyiv was willing to talk but only after Moscow agreed to a ceasefire.
Putin made his proposal in a 1.30am (2230 GMT on Saturday) televised statement from the Kremlin that coincided with prime time in the US, where President Donald Trump has been pressing both sides to agree to a truce of at least 30 days and stop the three-year-old war.
Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker and has repeatedly promised to end the war, called it “A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!”
However, Putin suggested that any ceasefire was a matter for the talks he proposed for Istanbul next Thursday, May 15.
And minutes later, senior Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters the talks must take into account both an abandoned 2022 draft peace deal and the current situation on the ground – shorthand for Kyiv agreeing to permanent neutrality in return for a security guarantee and accepting that Russia controls swathes of Ukraine.
Putin sent Russia’s armed forces into Ukraine in February 2022, unleashing a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and triggered the gravest confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
With Russian forces grinding forward, the Kremlin chief has offered few, if any, concessions so far.
He proposed what he said would be “direct negotiations without any preconditions”, making no mention of the terms later set out by Ushakov.
Putin said he did not rule out both sides agreeing in Turkey on “some new truces, a new ceasefire” – but one that would be the first step towards a “sustainable” peace.
Zelenskyy said it was “a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war” but that “the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire.”
“We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire – full, lasting, and reliable – starting tomorrow, May 12, and Ukraine is ready to meet,” he said.
