Ukraine says will meet Russia for talks if it agrees to ceasefire
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Kyiv would meet with Moscow for talks in Istanbul on May 15, but that Russia must first commit to a 30-day ceasefire starting from Monday.
Zelensky, using rare language since Moscow invaded more than three years ago, described Russia's proposal to convene direct peace talks as a "positive sign".
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was "ready to host negotiations", telling Russia's Vladimir Putin in a phone call that a "window of opportunity" had opened for peace.
Moscow and Kyiv have not held direct talks since March 2022, shortly after the Kremlin launched its invasion in February of that year.
Those talks, which also took place in Istanbul, led to a now-aborted peace deal that would have seen Kyiv adopt neutral status and renounce any NATO ambitions.
Russia's invasion has since dragged on, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of people, the destruction of Ukrainian cities and a total collapse in relations between Moscow and the West.
Moscow now occupies a fifth of the country and has claimed to have annexed four Ukrainian regions as its own, in addition to Crimea, which it seized in 2014.
"There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire -- full, lasting and reliable -- starting tomorrow, May 12, and Ukraine is ready to meet," Zelensky said on social media.
"It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war," the Ukrainian leader said, in a break of tone.
"The entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time. And the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire."
- 'First ceasefire', then the rest -
Kyiv and its Western allies have said an unconditional ceasefire to pause the fighting is the only way to advance a diplomatic solution in three-year-old conflict -- Europe's worst since the Second World War.
On a visit to Kyiv on Saturday the leaders of France, the UK, Germany and Poland pressured Russia -- with US President Donald Trump's support -- to commit to an unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine starting from Monday.
Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak said that Kyiv would only come to the table if Moscow agreed to the ceasefire from Monday.
"First, a 30-day ceasefire, then everything else," he said on social media.
"A ceasefire is the first step towards ending the war and it will confirm Russia's readiness to end the killing."
Russia has hit Ukraine with a string of deadly attacks this spring.
Talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in 2022 collapsed and fighting has been raging ever since.
Communication channels have only been open for exchanges of prisoners of war and bodies.
- Putin mute on truce -
At a press conference close to 1:00 am (2200 GMT) in the Kremlin, Putin did not respond to the 30-day ceasefire proposal put forward by Kyiv's allies.
He instead suggested resuming the Istanbul talks scuppered in 2022.
"We propose to the Kyiv authorities to resume the talks that they broke off in 2022, and, I emphasise, without any preconditions," he said.
"We propose to start (negotiations) without delay on Thursday May 15 in Istanbul," Putin said.
"We do not exclude that during these talks we will be able to agree on some new ceasefire," the Russian leader added.
But he also accused Ukraine's Western backers of wanting to "continue war with Russia" and -- without mentioning the specific proposal for a 30-day ceasefire -- slammed European "ultimatums" and "anti-Russian rhetoric".
Turkish President Erdogan told Putin in a phone call Sunday that Ankara was ready to host talks "aimed at achieving a lasting solution".
Returning from Ukraine, French leader Emmanuel Macron said he expected Russia to commit to the ceasefire "without setting any condition".
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Russia's offer to negotiate directly was a "good sign" but "far from sufficient", pressuring Moscow to agree to a truce.
But US President Donald Trump said it was a "potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine" and vowed to work with both sides to end the fighting.
Kyiv on Sunday accused Moscow of launching more than 100 drones on Ukraine, after a Russian-announced 72-hour ceasefire had ended at midnight.
H.Lecomte--PP
