Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine to end the ongoing conflict but did not address a 30-day ceasefire plan supported by European leaders and the United States. Speaking from the Kremlin on Sunday, Putin called for talks to resume in Istanbul on May 15, offering to reinitiate discussions that Ukraine broke off in 2022, “without any preconditions.”
Earlier negotiations in Istanbul failed to yield a truce, and Putin stated that he would speak with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to help facilitate the new round of talks. “I am committed to serious negotiations with Ukraine,” he said, emphasizing the need to address what he described as the “root causes” of the war, often related to Russia’s objections to Ukraine’s Western alignment.
While open to a potential ceasefire agreement, Putin sharply criticized Western “ultimatums” and “anti-Russian rhetoric,” without directly acknowledging the ceasefire proposal announced just hours earlier by Ukraine and European leaders. The European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, had urged Moscow to accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting Monday, warning of additional sanctions if Russia failed to comply.
Macron, speaking after a visit to Ukraine, cautioned that Putin’s offer could be a tactic to “buy time” and reiterated that a ceasefire would not be conditioned on prior negotiations. The ceasefire initiative has garnered significant international support, with Macron stressing that it should start Monday without preconditions. He also warned that in the event of a ceasefire violation, “massive sanctions” would be coordinated between the U.S. and Europe.
U.S. President Donald Trump, on his Truth Social platform, called the day “potentially great for Russia and Ukraine” and promised to continue working with both sides. Despite previous criticism of his stance toward Moscow, Trump has recently expressed frustration with the prolonged nature of the war.
British Prime Minister Starmer noted the growing unity among Western powers, while Polish Prime Minister Tusk described the current moment as a turning point, saying, “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 ceasefire, calling for its unconditional implementation as a means to facilitate meaningful peace negotiations. The show of unity came a day after Putin presided over a military parade in Moscow marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany, where he had declared a unilateral three-day ceasefire, although reports from Ukrainian forces indicated that fighting continued as usual during that period.
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