Putin proposed direct peace talks with Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed direct talks with Ukraine on May 11th, scheduled for May 15th in Istanbul. Putin stated that the talks aim to achieve lasting peace and eliminate the root causes of the conflict.
Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, leading to the most serious confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
He said that Russia is proposing direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul in an attempt to "eliminate the root causes of the conflict" and "achieve the restoration of a lasting, sustainable peace."
"It wasn't Russia that broke the talks in 2022. It was Kyiv. However, we are proposing that Kyiv resume direct talks without any preconditions," Putin said, referring to the failed talks that followed Russia's military operation in 2022.
"We propose that the Kiev authorities resume negotiations immediately on May 15th in Istanbul," Putin announced.
"Our proposal, as the saying goes, has been placed on the table; the decision now rests with the Ukrainian authorities and their patrons, who seem to be driven by personal political ambitions, rather than the interests of their people."
European powers on May 10 supported an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, backed by US President Donald Trump, and threatened Putin with new "large-scale" sanctions if he did not accept within days.
Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly stated that he wants to end the "bloodshed" of the Ukraine conflict, which his administration considers a proxy war between the U.S. and Russia.
According to Reuters, Putin views the war as a turning point in Moscow's relations with the West, which he says humiliated Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 by expanding NATO and encroaching on what he sees as Moscow's sphere of influence, including Ukraine.
