Putin: Russia ready for talks with Ukraine

Putin: Russia ready for talks with Ukraine

The Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed to have “direct conversations” with Ukraine next Thursday in Istanbul. This is done in the course of the efforts of European leaders and the United States to put pressure on Moscow in order to agree to a 30-day ceasefire and end the three-year conflict.

Putin's willingness to talk

"We would like to start immediately on Thursday, May 15th, in Istanbul, where they had previously taken place and were interrupted," said Putin in a rare late television address. He emphasized that the talks should take place "without any preconditions".

goal of the negotiations

"We are set to serious negotiations with Ukraine," continued Putin. These conversations are intended to "eliminate the causes of the conflict" and "to achieve a long -term, sustainable peace solution."

international reactions

The proposal was expressed just a few hours after a visit to the leaders of Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Poland, who asked Putin to agree with a ceasefire of 30 days, starting on Monday - otherwise he threatened "massive sanctions", according to the statement by the French President Emmanuel Macron during his symbolic visit in Kiev.

US support for ceasefire

The demand for an armistice is supported by the White House, confirmed the European heads of state after a joint call with the US President. Shortly after the leaders called for the ceasefire, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that Russia was "resistant to any pressure".

Putin's statement and further conversations

"Europe actually confronts us very openly," added Peskov. Although Putin supports the idea of a ceasefire "in general", there are "numerous questions" for the current proposal that still have to be answered. However, he did not comment on this.

On Sunday Putin announced that he would speak to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to have talks with Kiev.

This story continues to develop and is updated.