Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is ready to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkey on Thursday as US President Donald Trump told him not to wait for a ceasefire and to accept direct talks right away.
Putin made the proposal for a face-to-face meeting in a late-night speech on Saturday. Zelenskyy had reacted carefully to the idea but later confirmed that he would attend the talks, which are scheduled to be hosted in Istanbul on May 15.
“I will be waiting for Putin in Turkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
However, it is unclear if President Putin himself will attend the meeting in person.
The proposal came after European leaders visited Kyiv and demanded Russia agree on a 30-day ceasefire without conditions. They warned that if Putin refused, Russia would face “massive” sanctions.
Zelenskyy also said he was open to talks, but only if Moscow agreed to the 30-day ceasefire first. However, Trump offered a different opinion. He said Ukraine should accept Putin’s proposal immediately, without the ceasefire.
TRUMP PUSHES FOR IMMEDIATE TALKS
“President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH. Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the US, will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!”
In his social media posts, Trump has often said that he wants to be known as a peacemaker. After Putin’s announcement, Trump called it “A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!”
DIRECT TALKS WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS
In his address, Putin offered to hold “direct negotiations without any preconditions.” However, senior Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said that the talks must take into account a 2022 draft peace deal and the current battleground situation.
It means that Moscow wants Ukraine to remain neutral and recognise that Russia controls large areas of Ukrainian territory.
Putin also rejected demands made by Europe and Ukraine for a ceasefire to begin on Monday. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that before talking about a ceasefire, the root causes of the conflict must be addressed first.
Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The war has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers, triggering the most serious conflict between Russia and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
With inputs from Reuters
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