President Trump comments on Putin's offer to negotiate.
President Trump said that President Putin's offer of direct talks was "a great day for Russia and Ukraine."
According to RIA Novosti on May 11, commenting on Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer of direct peace talks with Ukraine, US President Donald Trump said, "This could be the best day for Russia and Ukraine."
Earlier, President Putin said he would discuss with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the possibility of holding direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul. Putin proposed to Kyiv, regardless of the circumstances, to resume direct talks on May 15, without any preconditions.
Argentinian historian Hernando Cleimens told RIA Novosti that the Russian president's proposal for negotiations with Ukraine was "a shrewd move," putting Europe in a difficult position, as Europe was already tired of claiming it wanted to force Russia to negotiate.
"Putin's message was unexpected. It was a clever move. Russia once again proved that they want peace. And once again they put Kyiv's European patrons in a difficult position, as they are forced to react... They are tired of saying they want to force Russia to negotiate. So Moscow is offering to negotiate with them with one small detail – no preconditions. What does this mean? That the negotiations will proceed on the basis of what already exists. Not on the basis of what someone wants or what someone thinks, but on the basis of what already exists," historian Kleimans said.
Experts believe that, logically speaking, the likelihood of Kyiv ignoring these proposals is very small, but they also note that anything can happen.
Meanwhile, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said that Russia is awaiting Ukraine's response to the proposal to hold talks in Istanbul on May 15.
