Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country is ready to hold peace talks with Russia in Istanbul on May 15 — but only if Moscow agrees to a 30-day ceasefire starting Monday.
Speaking on Sunday, Mr Zelensky, according to AFP, called Russia’s latest proposal for direct peace talks a “positive sign”, using unusually conciliatory language more than three years after the war began.
“There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day,” he wrote on social media. “We expect Russia to confirm a full, lasting and reliable ceasefire starting tomorrow.”
The last direct talks between Russia and Ukraine were held in Istanbul in March 2022, shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February of that year. Those negotiations collapsed, and fighting has continued ever since.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has now proposed reviving those talks — again in Istanbul — and said they should begin without any preconditions. He has not yet publicly responded to the 30-day ceasefire demand.
“We propose to resume the talks that Kyiv broke off in 2022,” Mr Putin said in a late-night news conference. “We do not exclude that during these talks, we will be able to agree on some new ceasefire.”
But Mr Putin also criticised Ukraine’s Western allies, accusing them of pushing for continued war and using “ultimatums” against Moscow.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was ready to host the talks and told Mr Putin in a phone call that a “window of opportunity” had opened.
On Saturday, the leaders of France, the UK, Germany and Poland visited Kyiv to urge Russia to accept an unconditional ceasefire. US President Donald Trump, in a statement, welcomed the developments and said it could be a “potentially great day” for both nations.
Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, reiterated that Kyiv would only attend talks if Russia commits to the ceasefire.
“First, a 30-day ceasefire, then everything else,” Mr Yermak wrote online.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions, and caused widespread destruction in Ukraine. Russia currently occupies about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including four regions it claims to have annexed, as well as Crimea, which it seized in 2014.
Despite the peace overtures, tensions remain high. Ukraine on Sunday accused Russia of launching over 100 drones after a Russian-declared 72-hour ceasefire expired at midnight.
The international community now watches closely to see if Russia will agree to the ceasefire — a move many believe could be the first real step toward ending Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two.