Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for direct peace talks with Ukraine to be held in Istanbul on May 15th. He stated that the talks should focus on ending the war and addressing the root causes that led to its initiation.
The Russian leader deployed troops into Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the most severe conflict between Russia and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. He indicated that Russia is proposing direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul in an effort to ‘eliminate the root causes of the conflict’ and ‘to achieve the restoration of a long-term, lasting peace.’ Putin blamed Ukraine for withdrawing from talks in 2022, but asserted that Moscow is now prepared to resume discussions without any preconditions. ‘It was not Russia that broke off negotiations in 2022. It was Kyiv. Nevertheless, we are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions,’ Putin said, referencing the failed talks shortly after the Russian invasion of 2022. ‘We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already on Thursday, in Istanbul,’ Putin stated. ‘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.’ Major European powers, with the backing of US President Donald Trump, endorsed an unconditional 30-day Ukraine ceasefire on Saturday and threatened Putin with ‘massive’ new sanctions if he did not comply within days. Trump, who has expressed a desire to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly stated his intention to end the ‘bloodbath’ of the Ukraine war, which his administration characterizes as a proxy war between the United States and Russia. Former US President Joe Biden, Western European leaders, and Ukraine have condemned the invasion as an imperial-style land grab and have repeatedly pledged to defeat Russian forces. Putin frames the war as a pivotal moment in Moscow’s relations with the West, which he alleges humiliated Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 by expanding NATO and encroaching on what he considers Moscow’s sphere of influence, including Ukraine.
