Putin proposes direct Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul on May 15

Russian President Vladimir Putin has projected nonstop talks with Ukraine successful Istanbul connected May 15, “without preconditions” to execute “lasting peace” and “eliminate the basal causes” of the three-year conflict.

The offer, delivered aboriginal connected Sunday, came hours aft the leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom called for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire to commencement connected Monday.

The leaders, who were gathering successful Kyiv, said their telephone is backed by United States President Donald Trump and threatened “massive” caller sanctions connected Moscow if it did not hold with their plan.

Putin did not explicitly code that telephone successful his comments, but slammed European “ultimatums” and “anti-Russian rhetoric” earlier outlining the counter-proposal for renewed Russia-Ukraine negotiations.

“We are proposing that Kyiv resume nonstop negotiations without immoderate preconditions,” the Russian president told reporters. “We connection the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already connected Thursday, successful Istanbul.”

Putin said that helium would talk to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan aboriginal connected Sunday astir facilitating the talks.

There was nary contiguous effect from Ukraine to the proposal.

But Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has antecedently said helium was acceptable for bid talks, but lone aft a ceasefire is successful place.

Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine, which began successful February 2022, has near hundreds of thousands of soldiers dormant and triggered the gravest confrontation betwixt Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators held nonstop talks successful Istanbul successful the archetypal weeks of the conflict, but failed to hold to halt the fighting.

Putin said Russia was proposing restarting the talks successful an effort to “eliminate the basal causes of the conflict” and “to execute the restoration of a long-term, lasting peace” alternatively than simply a intermission for rearmament.

“We bash not exclude that during these talks we volition beryllium capable to hold connected immoderate caller ceasefire,” helium added.

Putin, whose forces person precocious implicit the past year, has faced accrued nationalist and backstage unit from Trump arsenic good arsenic warnings from European powers to extremity the war.

But helium has offered fewer concessions and has stood steadfast successful his conditions for ending the war.

In June 2024, Putin said Ukraine indispensable officially driblet its NATO ambitions and retreat its troops from the entirety of the territory of 4 Ukrainian regions claimed by Russia.

Russian officials person besides projected that the US recognise Russia’s power implicit astir one-fifth of Ukraine and demanded that Ukraine stay neutral, though Moscow has said it is not opposed to Kyiv’s ambitions to articulation the European Union.

Putin specifically mentioned the 2022 draught deal, which Russia and Ukraine negotiated soon aft the Russian penetration of February 2022.

Under that draft, Ukraine should hold to imperishable neutrality successful instrumentality for planetary information guarantees from the 5 imperishable members of the United Nations Security Council: China, France, Russia, the UK and the US.

“It was not Russia that broke disconnected negotiations successful 2022. It was Kyiv,” Putin said. “Russia is acceptable to negociate without immoderate preconditions.”

He thanked China, Brazil, African and Middle Eastern countries and the US for their efforts to mediate.

Russia, Putin added, had projected respective ceasefires, including a moratorium connected striking vigor facilities, an Easter ceasefire, and astir recently, the 72-hour truce during the celebrations marking 80 years since triumph successful World War II, but accused Ukraine of repeatedly violating the ceasefires.

He said that during the May ceasefire, Ukraine had attacked Russia with 524 aerial drones, 45 oversea drones, a fig of Western missiles and that Russia had repelled 5 attacks connected Russian regions.

Ukraine, too, has accused Russia of repeatedly violating its ain ceasefire.

Earlier connected Saturday, Zelenskyy said the sojourn to Kyiv by the leaders of France, Germany, Poland and the UK sent “a precise important signal”.

Following their meeting, the 5 leaders issued a connection calling for a ceasefire “lasting astatine slightest 30 days” from Monday, to marque country for a diplomatic propulsion to extremity the war.

“An unconditional ceasefire by explanation cannot beryllium taxable to immoderate conditions. If Russia calls for specified conditions, this tin lone beryllium considered arsenic an effort to prolong the warfare and undermine diplomacy,” the connection read.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the US would instrumentality the pb successful monitoring the projected ceasefire, with enactment from European countries, and threatened “massive sanctions … prepared and coordinated betwixt Europeans and Americans” should Russia interruption the truce.

Meanwhile, retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, Trump’s peculiar envoy to Ukraine, said Saturday that a “comprehensive” 30-day ceasefire, covering attacks from the air, land, oversea and connected infrastructure, “will commencement the process for ending the largest and longest warfare successful Europe since World War II”.

Trump, who says helium wants to beryllium remembered arsenic a peacemaker, has repeatedly said helium wants to extremity the “bloodbath” of the Ukraine war, which his medication casts arsenic a proxy warfare betwixt the US and Russia.

Former US President Joe Biden, Western European leaders and Ukraine formed the penetration arsenic an imperial-style onshore drawback and repeatedly pledged to decision Russian forces.

Putin casts the warfare arsenic a watershed infinitesimal successful Moscow’s relations with the West, which helium says humiliated Russia aft the Soviet Union fell successful 1991 by enlarging NATO and encroaching connected what helium considers Moscow’s sphere of influence, including Ukraine.