The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, reacted on Sunday to Vladimir Putin’s proposal for direct peace negotiations in Istanbul on May 15, stating that it is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war.
Zelensky, however, says that before these discussions, there is a need for a ceasefire to start tomorrow.
“It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war. The whole world has been waiting for this for a very long time. And the first step to truly end any war is a ceasefire.
There is no point in continuing the massacre even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire - complete, durable, and reliable - starting tomorrow, May 12, and Ukraine is ready to meet with the Russian side,” Zelensky wrote on X.
Putin's Proposal
Vladimir Putin announced on Saturday night that he proposes the reopening of "direct negotiations interrupted in 2022" to Kyiv, without any preconditions. He proposes starting these negotiations in Istanbul on May 15.
“We propose to start without delay, as early as next Thursday, May 15, in Istanbul. Where negotiations have taken place before and were interrupted,” Putin told Kremlin-accredited reporters, as reported by News.ro. According to TASS, the Kremlin leader emphasized that the discussions - failed in March 2022 - must be resumed from where they were interrupted.
“It was not Russia that interrupted the negotiations in 2022. It was Kyiv. However, we propose to Kyiv to resume direct negotiations without any preconditions,” Putin stated, referring to the failed negotiations shortly after the Russian invasion in 2022.
According to Reuters, Putin said that the negotiations should aim at "eliminating the root causes of the conflict" and "restoring a lasting and long-term peace."
Putin sees the war in Ukraine as a decisive moment in Moscow's relations with the West, which he says has humiliated Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 through NATO expansion and the invasion of what he considers to be Moscow's sphere of influence, including Ukraine.
“We offer the authorities in Kyiv to resume negotiations as early as Thursday, in Istanbul,” Putin specified. “Our proposal, as they say, is on the table, the decision now lies with the Ukrainian authorities and their sponsors, who seem to be guided by their personal political ambitions, and not by the interests of their people,” added the Kremlin leader.