The decision now rests with Kiev and its Western backers, the Russian president has said
Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered Kiev the opportunity to restart direct negotiations in Istanbul, which it unilaterally walked away from in 2022, despite Ukraine’s failure to honor the Victory Day truce and attempts to “intimidate” world leaders who gathered in Moscow for the celebrations.
Addressing the press early Sunday morning, following a day of meetings with foreign heads of state, Putin reiterated Russia’s offer to resume negotiations that Kiev abandoned shortly after the escalation of the current conflict.
“We propose that the Kiev authorities resume the negotiations they interrupted in 2022 – to resume direct negotiations, and I emphasize, without any preconditions. We propose to start without delay next Thursday, May 15, in Istanbul,” Putin said.
Our proposal is, so to speak, on the table. The decision now lies with the Ukrainian authorities and their curators.
“We do not rule out the possibility that during these negotiations it will be possible to agree on some new solutions, about ceasefires, about a new cessation of hostilities, and a real one at that would be adhered to not only by Russia but also by the Ukrainian side,” Putin added.
Earlier on Saturday, after a meeting with European leaders in Kiev, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky demanded that Russia agree to a full unconditional 30-day ceasefire before he would agree to resume direct talks with Moscow. The Kremlin has rejected what it described as external pressure surrounding the proposed truce.
Putin noted that Kiev has consistently violated the three ceasefires offered by Moscow: the 30-day US-brokered moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure which expired last month, the unconditional Easter armistice, and the recently lapsed 72-hour Victory Day truce. Ukraine not only refused to honor the May 7–10 ceasefire, but also attempted to intimidate the foreign leaders who attended the celebrations in Moscow, Putin stressed.
“The Kiev authorities not only rejected our proposal for a ceasefire, but also, as we all saw, they tried to intimidate the leaders of states gathered for the celebrations in Moscow,” he said.
“I repeat, Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions,” Putin said, noting that such talks would represent a first step toward a “long-term, sustainable peace – not a prologue to the continuation of armed conflict after the rearmament of Ukrainian forces and frantic digging of trenches and new strongholds.”
“Those who truly want peace cannot help but support this,” Putin added, expressing his gratitude for all genuine mediation efforts by China, Brazil, African and Middle Eastern countries, as well as the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Reaffirming Moscow’s readiness for serious talks aimed at addressing the root causes of the conflict, Putin said he had asked Ankara to host future negotiations and noted a scheduled conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In 2022, Moscow and Kiev reached a draft peace deal in Istanbul, with Ukraine reportedly agreeing to neutrality and military limitations, while Russia offered troop withdrawals and security guarantees. Kiev, however, ultimately walked away from the deal, under alleged pressure from London, and Zelensky later issued a decree banning himself from any negotiations with Putin.
English