Putin proposes direct peace talks with Ukraine on 15 May
Russian president Vladimir Putin has dismissed calls for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, instead proposing direct peace talks with Kyiv on 15 May, potentially in Istanbul, without preconditions.
In a surprising turn, Russian president Vladimir Putin has proposed holding direct peace talks with Ukraine on 15 May, potentially in Istanbul, without any preconditions. Speaking in Moscow in the early hours of 11 May, Putin expressed Russia’s willingness to “restart” peace negotiations held in April 2022, weeks after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
Putin characterised the proposed discussions as a chance to address the conflict’s root causes and build a lasting peace. He plans to seek Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s support to facilitate the talks. Despite not directly addressing the European leaders’ 30-day ceasefire call, Putin did not rule out the possibility of reaching a new ceasefire agreement during the proposed negotiations.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking from the Polish city of Przemysl after visiting Kyiv, described Putin’s proposal as “a first step, but not sufficient”. He also reiterated the demand for an unconditional ceasefire. “An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations”, Macron said, suggesting that Putin might be “seeking a way out while also trying to buy time.”
In contrast, US president Donald Trump reacted more positively. He described the proposal as a “potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine”. “Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending ‘bloodbath’ hopefully comes to an end”, Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Earlier, Macron, alongside German chancellor Friedrich Merz, British prime minister Keir Starmer, and Polish prime minister Donald Tusk, had met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. They collectively urged Russia to initiate a 30-day unconditional ceasefire starting on 12 May and said significant new sanctions could go into effect if Moscow refused.
Vladimir Putin © Gavriil GRIGOROV / POOL / AFP