Volodymyr Zelensky has said it is a “positive sign” Vladimir Putin has proposed direct talks with Ukraine aimed at ending the war.
The Russian president suggested holding talks in Istanbul on Thursday – which would be the first such discussions between the two nations since the early months of the conflict sparked by Moscow’s invasion in 2022.
Ukraine’s leader said it was a “positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war”, but he reiterated there needed to be a ceasefire first.
Putin’s late-night statement at the Kremlin came hours after European leaders threatened him with further sanctions if he doesn’t agree to a 30-day ceasefire starting on Monday.
US president Donald Trump – who has given his backing to the European ceasefire proposal – said Ukraine should agree to Putin’s offer “immediately”.
“At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!” he said in a post on Truth Social.
“I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War ll, which could not have been won (not even close!) without the United States of America. HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!!”
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Ukraine will meet Russia for talks if Moscow agrees to ceasefire
European leaders had proposed an unconditional ceasefire starting on Monday (Ludovic MARIN)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said that Kyiv would meet with Moscow for talks in Istanbul on May 15 but said that Russia must first commit to a 30-day ceasefire starting on Monday.
Zelensky – using rare language since Moscow launched its invasion more than three years ago that has devastated Ukraine – said he did see a “positive sign” from Russia.
The warring sides have not held direct talks since the start of the invasion – launched by the Kremlin in February 2022.
Putin proposes direct peace talks with Ukraine after three years of war
Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a statement to the media in Moscow
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed direct talks with Ukraine aimed at ending the war, an initiative welcomed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy who said Kyiv was willing to talk but Moscow must agree to a ceasefire.
Putin sent thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, unleashing a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and triggered the gravest confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
With Russian forces grinding forward, the Kremlin chief has offered few, if any, concessions so far but has proposed talks with Ukraine in the Turkish city of Istanbul that he said would be held without preconditions and aimed at a durable peace.
“We are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions,” Putin said in a televised statement from the Kremlin that began after 1:30 a.m. on Sunday (2230 GMT Saturday). “We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already on Thursday, in Istanbul.”
Read the full report from Reuters
Putin’s proposal for direct talks with Kyiv ‘not enough’ says France’s Macron
Rescuers look for survivors of a Russian airstrike on the town of Kostiantynivka, in Donetsk region of Ukraine on 8 May, 2025 when a three-day ceasefire was supposedly in place.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed direct talks with Kyiv on 15 May, hours after European leaders threatened strong sanctions if Russia refused to agree to a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine. Kyiv described the proposal as a positive sign but French President Emmanuel Macron said it wasn’t enough.
Vladimir Putin called Sunday for “direct talks” with Ukraine on 15 May in Istanbul.
It came a day after leaders from France, Germany, the UK and Poland met in Kyiv and warned Russia it would face “new and massive” sanctions if Moscow did not agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
Putin’s offer of direct talks is the latest attempt to avoid committing to a 30-day ceasefire
The Kremlin billed this as a meaningful statement from Vladimir Putin but how much does it actually mean?
His comments are exactly the same as what Moscow has been saying for weeks, only repackaged with a date. The latest attempt to avoid committing to a 30-day ceasefire.
Next Thursday – 15 May – is when he’s proposing to hold direct talks with Ukraine. Only then, he says, can they discuss the details of a longer truce.
Istanbul is apparently the venue. The trouble is, Turkey doesn’t appear to know about it. The Russian leader said he’d call President Erdogan tomorrow.
Given America’s apparent support for Europe’s ultimatum to Russia (ceasefire or sanctions), he had to respond with something new. But this felt like a proposal that had been hastily cobbled together in the corridor outside.
Read the full analysis from Sky News
Putin ‘called out’ by Starmer, Trump and European leaders to agree Ukraine truce
Keir Starmer and other European leaders have warned Vladimir Putin he faces “massive” new sanctions and increased military aid to Ukraine if he does not agree to an almost immediate 30-day ceasefire.
The prime minister said they were “calling out” the Russian leader with the backing of Donald Trump. “If [Putin] is serious about peace, he has a chance to show it now,” Sir Keir said.
And he warned there were “no more ifs and buts” after he flew to Kyiv to stand side by side with President Zelensky, saying Putin had not required extra conditions to be met when “he wanted a ceasefire to have a parade – and he does not need them now”.
In an extraordinary turnaround just weeks after President Trump’s showdown with Zelensky in the Oval Office, Sir Keir also said Europe and the US were “speaking with one voice” on the issue.