Putin offers Ukraine talks in Istanbul on May 15 instead of ceasefire – media
Putin, at a press conference on Sunday night, proposed to start direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15, Reuters reports.
Putin ignored the proposal of Ukraine and European leaders for a ceasefire from Monday, May 12, for 30 days, supported by the United States.
Instead, he stated that a ceasefire could be discussed during direct talks.
"He said that Russia is offering direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul in an attempt to ‘eliminate the root causes of the conflict’ and ‘achieve the restoration of a long-term, lasting peace,’" Reuters quoted the Kremlin leader as saying.
As the agency notes, Putin resorted to accusations against the Ukrainian authorities, traditional for his rhetoric. In particular, he complained about the unsuccessful negotiations in Istanbul in 2022. The dictator also could not refrain from criticizing Ukraine's Western partners.
"Our proposal, as they say, is on the table, the decision is now up to the Ukrainian authorities and their curators, who seem to be guided by their personal political ambitions, and not the interests of their people," Putin was quoted as saying by Reuters.
As reported, on Saturday, May 10, the leaders of France, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom and Ukraine, following a meeting in Kyiv, adopted a joint statement in which they expressed Russia a proposal to cease fire completely and without any conditions from Monday, May 12, for at least 30 days. The co-authors of the statement agreed that if Russia puts forward preliminary conditions, this "can only be seen as an attempt to prolong the war and undermine diplomacy." If Russia refuses the proposed ceasefire, they agreed to apply tougher sanctions to its banking and energy sectors, targeting fossil fuels, oil and a shadow fleet. The joint statement also discussed the 17th package of EU sanctions and continued work on the effective use of frozen Russian assets.