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By Bloomberg News
Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to hold direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15, saying he didn’t rule out reaching an agreement on a ceasefire in the war.
“We’re in the mood for serious talks with Ukraine,” Putin said in late-night comments to reporters at the Kremlin on Saturday (Moscow time). Russia was ready to “resume direct negotiations and I emphasise – without any preconditions”.
Vladimir Putin speaks to China’s President Xi Jinping during the Victory Day parade in Moscow.Credit: AP
There was no immediate response from Kyiv to the proposal, which came in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Putin’s offer came after Ukraine and European powers demanded that Russia join an “unconditional” 30-day ceasefire from Monday to allow negotiations on ending the war, saying they had backing from US President Donald Trump for the ultimatum.
The Russian leader didn’t indicate whether he would agree to the truce.
A refusal by Putin to observe the ceasefire would trigger a fresh wave of sanctions targeting energy and the financial sector, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Kyiv on Saturday.
Putin said Russia was “in the mood for serious negotiations” aimed at dealing with the root causes of the conflict and establishing a lasting peace.
“We do not rule out that during these negotiations it will be possible to agree on some new truces, on a new ceasefire,” he said, while seeking to blame Ukraine for previous ceasefire violations.
Russia would resume talks with Ukraine that were halted in late 2022 “without any preconditions,” Putin said, adding that he would be speaking to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In an earlier statement on X, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said his country and its allies were ready for a full ceasefire on land, air, and at sea for at least 30 days, starting from Monday.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz meet on a train en route to Kyiv.Credit: Getty Images
The ceasefire plan was announced on Saturday after Zelensky met French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish premier Donald Tusk in Kyiv.
The meeting was the first time the leaders of the four countries had travelled together to Ukraine and was intended as a show of unity, the day after Putin hosted his allies, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a Victory Day parade on Red Square in Moscow.
The five European leaders discussed the ceasefire in a 20-minute call with Trump that hadn’t been previously scheduled and was described as “warm” by a person familiar with the interaction.
Washington didn’t confirm any new stance by Trump, with a White House official saying that the president has said economic sanctions are on the table if a ceasefire is not agreed.
After engaging directly with Russian officials, clashing publicly with Zelensky and briefly cutting off vital military aid to Ukraine, the Trump administration has patched up ties with Kyiv and signed an arduously negotiated minerals deal.
Tone shift
There has also been a palpable shift in tone from Trump, who has signalled growing frustration with Putin’s foot-dragging over a ceasefire and Russia’s restatement of its demands for a settlement.
Putin has shown no sign he’s willing to halt the invasion and has maintained maximalist positions for any ceasefire. That includes Russian control of four eastern and south-eastern Ukrainian regions it annexed illegally in the 2022 full-scale invasion, but doesn’t fully occupy.
Rescue workers search the site of a building destroyed in a Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, last week.Credit: AP
The US has floated proposals that would broadly freeze the conflict, leaving most Russian-occupied territory in Moscow’s hands. The Trump administration is also prepared to recognise the Ukrainian region of Crimea that Putin annexed in 2014 as Russian, Bloomberg reported in April.
Asked on Friday in the Oval Office if he had a message for Putin, Trump said: “I have a message for both parties: Get this war ended.”
