Monday, May 12, 2025 - Russian President, Vladimir Putin has proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine to end the ongoing conflict but made no mention of a 30-day ceasefire plan supported by European leaders and the United States.
Speaking from the Kremlin early Sunday, Putin suggested that
talks resume in Istanbul on May 15, saying, “We propose to the Kyiv authorities
to resume the talks that they broke off in 2022, and, I emphasize, without any
preconditions.”
Russia and Ukraine previously held negotiations in Istanbul
during the early stages of the war, but those talks failed to produce a truce.
Putin added that he would speak with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to
seek support in facilitating the new round of talks.
“I am
committed to serious negotiations with Ukraine,” he said, stressing the need to
address what he described as the “root causes” of the war — grievances often
linked to Russia’s long-standing objections to Ukraine’s Western alignment.
While expressing openness to a new ceasefire agreement
during the proposed talks, Putin sharply criticized what he called Western
“ultimatums” and “anti-Russian rhetoric.” He did not directly acknowledge the
ceasefire proposal presented just hours earlier by Ukraine and the leaders of
France, Germany, Britain, and Poland.
The European leaders, joined by Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, had urged Moscow to accept a 30-day unconditional
ceasefire starting Monday, warning of additional sanctions if Russia failed to
comply.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking during his return
from Ukraine, cautioned that Putin’s offer could be a tactic to “buy time.” He
emphasized that “an unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations, by
definition.”
The ceasefire initiative has gained broad international
backing. “We have just now… decided to support a ceasefire which will begin
next Monday, without any preconditions,” Macron said during a press conference
in Kyiv. The announcement followed a joint meeting with German Chancellor
Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Polish Prime Minister
Donald Tusk.
The leaders also held a video conference with counterparts from around 20 other nations in the pro-Ukraine coalition. In the event of a ceasefire violation, Macron warned that “massive sanctions” were being coordinated between the U.S. and Europe.
U.S. President Donald Trump responded on his Truth Social platform,
calling it “a potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine” and promised to
continue working with both sides. Though previously criticized for his stance
toward Moscow, Trump has recently expressed frustration with the war’s
prolonged nature and signaled impatience with Putin.
British Prime Minister Starmer echoed the growing alignment among Western
powers, saying the Kyiv talks showed “absolute unity across a whole range of
countries around the world, including the United States.”
Polish Prime Minister Tusk described the atmosphere as a turning point,
adding, “For the first time in a long time we had a feeling that the whole free
world is truly united.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also backed the
proposed truce, calling for its unconditional implementation as a pathway to
meaningful peace negotiations.
Meanwhile, the symbolic display of unity came just one day after Putin
presided over a military parade in Moscow marking 80 years since the defeat of
Nazi Germany. He had previously declared a unilateral three-day ceasefire for
the event, though reports from Ukrainian forces suggested fighting continued at
normal intensity during that period.
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