Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed holding direct talks with Ukraine on May 15 in Istanbul, Turkey, in what would be the first face-to-face meeting between the warring nations since peace talks began earlier this year.
“We are determined to have serious negotiations … to eliminate the root causes of the conflict,” Putin told reporters in a late-night statement.
In his remarks, the Russian president also left open the possibility of reaching a “new” ceasefire agreement with Ukraine.
“We do not exclude that during these talks we will be able to agree on some new ceasefire,” he said.
Putin indicated that he would speak to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday about hosting the talks.
The latest development in the peace negotiations follows a high-level summit meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday featuring European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which they pressured Russia into accepting an unconditional 30-day ceasefire by May 12, or else face significant sanctions on its banking and energy sectors.
Putin suggested in his comments that the 30-day unconditional ceasefire is off the table for now.
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“Our proposal, as they say, is on the table, the decision is now up to the Ukrainian authorities and their curators, who are guided, it seems, by their personal political ambitions, and not by the interests of their peoples,” he said.
Ukraine has not yet responded to Putin’s offer of direct talks.
