Volodymyr Zelensky has signaled his willingness to engage in direct peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin by stating that he will be prepared to meet the Russian leader in Turkey next week.
The Ukrainian wartime leader urged for a ‘full and lasting ceasefire’ to start tomorrow ahead of any potential showdown in Istanbul next Thursday.Â
Zelensky’s announcement about the potential meeting with Putin followed a request from US President Donald Trump for Ukraine to engage in talks with the Russian President.
Expressing the need for a comprehensive ceasefire to pave the way for diplomatic discussions, Zelensky mentioned that he is ready to await Putin’s arrival in Turkey on Thursday.
Trump earlier said that Moscow is not open to a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine with Putin instead wanting to meet in person to negotiate an ‘end to the bloodbath’.
‘Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY. At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible,’ Trump wrote on his social media account.
‘I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War ll, which could not have been won (not even close!) without the United States of America.’
‘HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!!’
Volodymyr Zelensky has opened the door for face-to-face peace talks with Vladimir Putin as he told the Russian despot he ‘will be waiting’ for him in Turkey
Putin has already effectively rejected a ceasefire offer made a day earlier by Ukraine and its European allies
Zelensky’s vow comes hours after US President Donald Trump says that Putin wants to meet in Turkey on Thursday for talks on ending the war with UkraineÂ
Trump is heading to the Middle East next week for his first trip to that region since the start of his second term.
In his post, Trump railed against Zelensky after the two clashed in their Oval Office meeting earlier this year.
The Republican president has always been against the mass amounts of aid that his predecessor sent to Ukraine in its war with Russia. Trump says if there is no end in sight to the war, he is less inclined to want to keep supporting the European nation in the conflict.
Putin has already effectively rejected a ceasefire offer made a day earlier by Ukraine and its European allies.Â
Putin countered with a proposal to restart direct talks with Ukraine, during which a truce could be negotiated.
The exchange of proposals appeared to leave Kyiv and Moscow deadlocked over the next steps in Washington-led effort to end the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.
During his election campaign, Trump had promised to end the fighting swiftly but his administration recently indicated it might walk away from the peace process if there was no tangible progress.
Without directly mentioning either proposal, Trump said in a social media post several hours after Putin’s peace talks remarks that it was ‘a potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!’
The leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland arrived in Kyiv on Saturday for talks with Ukrainian President Zelensky in a show of unity of the ‘coalition of the willing’, a day after Putin’s hosted his allies for a Red Square Victory Day parade
The leaders gave a joint press conference in Kyiv on Saturday afternoon following the latest meeting of the ‘coalition of the willing’
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer arrived in Kyiv to meet with President Zelensky and other European leaders on Saturday
‘Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending `bloodbath’ hopefully comes to an end,’ Trump wrote. ‘I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens. The USA wants to focus, instead, on Rebuilding and Trade. A BIG week upcoming!’ he added.
Zelensky, writing on X on Sunday, said it was a ‘positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war’ and said that ‘the entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time’.
He added, however, that ‘the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire,’ in a reference to his proposal to start a 30-day unconditional truce on Monday.
Putin, in remarks to the media overnight, effectively rejected that ceasefire offer and proposed restarting direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday instead ‘without preconditions.’Â
He said a ceasefire might be agreed on during the negotiations – but stressed that the Kremlin needs a truce that would lead to a ‘lasting peace’ instead of one that would allow Ukraine to rearm and mobilize more men into its armed forces.
Putin’s counter-offer came after leaders from four major European countries threatened to ratchet up pressure on Moscow if it does not accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with Zelensky in Kyiv on Saturday and issued a coordinated call for the truce starting Monday.Â
The plan has received backing from both the European Union and Trump.
The leaders pledged tougher sanctions on Russia if Putin did not accept the proposal.
Sir Keir Starmer is seen speaking with President Zelensky alongside France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Frederich Merz on Saturday
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Starmer, Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska, Macron, and Merz pay their respects to the victims of war at the Memorial for the Fallen at the Independence Square
Zelensky, in his Sunday remarks, reiterated that call. ‘There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire – full, lasting, and reliable – starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet,’ the Ukrainian leader said on X.
Macron said Sunday that Putin’s offer of direct negotiations with Ukraine is ‘a first step, but not enough,’ signaling continued Western skepticism toward Moscow’s intentions.
‘An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations,’ Macron told reporters at the Polish-Ukrainian border, according to French media.
Macron also warned that Putin is ‘looking for a way out, but he still wants to buy time.’
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in comments aired by Russian state TV on Sunday, called Putin’s proposal ‘very serious,’ aimed at eliminating ‘the root causes of the conflict,’ and said it ‘confirms a real intention to find a peaceful solution.’
Putin spoke Sunday to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who expressed readiness to host the talks, the Kremlin said.
According to the Kremlin’s readout of the phone call, Erdogan ‘fully supported the Russian proposal, emphasizing his readiness to provide’ a platform for the talks in Istanbul, as well as ‘all possible assistance in organizing and holding the negotiations aimed at achieving sustainable peace.’
Erdogan also spoke to Macron on Sunday, according to a statement from the Turkish presidential communications office, and said that a ‘historic turning point’ had been reached in efforts to end the war.
Meanwhile, Russia resumed mass drone attacks in Ukraine early on Sunday, after its self-declared three-day pause expired.
Russia launched 108 attack drones and simulator drones from six different directions, Ukraine’s air force said. It said 60 drones were shot down and another 41 simulator drones failed to reach targets due to Ukrainian countermeasures.
The Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday accused Ukraine of ‘violating’ Moscow’s three-day ceasefire more than 14,000 times. Ukraine, which did not agree to the May 8-10 ceasefire, has also accused Russia of violating its own truce, with the Ukrainian foreign minister calling it a farce.
