Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded that Moscow to sign on to a 30-day peace beginning Monday and presented to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin “personally” in Turkey for direct talks on 15th May.
The offer followed Putin’s proposal to restart talks in response to a new call for a pause from Western leaders.
In response to calls for direct dialogue, including those from Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Zelensky affirmed his willingness to engage with Vladimir Putin in a face-to-face meeting in Turkey.
The Kremlin’s silence followed Zelensky’s meeting offer, and he did not clarify his stance should Russia decline Ukraine and its allies’ 30-day ceasefire offer.
” Vladimir Putin stated that Russia is open to direct negotiations with Ukraine, asserting that the 2022 breakdown was Kyiv’s doing, and offered to restart talks unconditionally.”
“Even with the present challenges, we propose that the Kyiv leadership meet in Istanbul to continue negotiations on Thursday.”
” The purpose of our serious negotiations with Ukraine is to resolve the deep-seated issues that have cursed this conflict and establish a long-term peace that will last from a historical perspective. “
” We are open to the possibility that these talks could produce agreements on new truces, a real and mutually respected ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
This, “we emphasize, would be the starting point for a long-term peace, not just a temporary pause before more armed conflict”.
