Putin proposes direct talks with Kyiv next week

Moscow. Following Kyiv's ultimatum for a longer ceasefire starting Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered Ukraine the resumption of direct peace talks in Turkey. According to Putin's wishes, these should begin as early as next Thursday (May 15) in Istanbul, the Kremlin chief said overnight. Putin emphasized this to journalists in Moscow that direct talks "without preconditions" should be resumed. "Those who truly want peace cannot oppose it." Putin did not directly address the Ukrainian demand for a 30-day ceasefire.

The Kremlin chief announced talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for this Sunday. He expressed hope that Erdogan would confirm his willingness to contribute to a peaceful solution to the conflict with Ukraine. The Turkish president had previously described his country as an ideal location for possible peace negotiations. There was initially no reaction from Kyiv to Putin's counterproposal last night.

Shortly after taking office, Chancellor Merz traveled to Kyiv. Together with key allies, he issued Kremlin leader Putin with an ultimatum for a ceasefire. Merz called it the "biggest diplomatic initiative" for an end to the war in a long time.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with Western backing, had previously demanded that Moscow implement a 30-day ceasefire without preconditions starting Monday, otherwise new sanctions would be imposed.

Putin, in turn, accused the Ukrainian side of sabotaging several attempts at a ceasefire. At the same time, he did not completely rule out an extension of the three-day ceasefire he had declared around May 9. This ceasefire expired at midnight local time (11:00 p.m. CEST).

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, confirmed, according to the Russian state news agency TASS, that the three-day ceasefire was no longer in effect. "Of course, it's over," Peskov said. There had been numerous violations of the agreements by the other side and thus "no serious ceasefire."

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Both warring parties had accused each other of attacks even after the unilaterally declared ceasefire began on Thursday. Zelenskyy accused Putin of feigning the ceasefire of the past few days so that the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II could be celebrated undisturbed. "The attacks on the front line continue," the head of state said at a meeting of the "Coalition of the Willing" of allied states in Kyiv.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk traveled to Kyiv on Saturday to issue an ultimatum to Russia for an unconditional ceasefire. Merz initially appeared hopeful. He told ZDF: "This is the largest diplomatic initiative to end the war in Ukraine in recent months, if not years."

Russia's neighbor has been defending itself against Putin's war of aggression for more than three years. There were renewed reports of drone attacks in the war zone on Sunday night.

Russia had demanded that the US and EU end arms deliveries to Kyiv as a prerequisite for a 30-day ceasefire. "Otherwise, there will be an advantage for Ukraine," Kremlin spokesman Peskov said in an interview with the US broadcaster ABC.

Ukraine would use a ceasefire to continue its "total mobilization," bringing additional troops to the front, training new soldiers, and giving current fighters a respite, he claimed. "Why should we give Ukraine such an advantage?" Russia is itself making progress with its offensive in Ukraine and has the initiative, Peskov emphasized.

Both warring parties repeatedly accuse each other of having no real interest in ending the fighting.

Russia reacted calmly to the West's threat of sanctions if Moscow does not agree to the ceasefire. They will not be intimidated and have already become accustomed to the punitive measures, Peskov told Russian state television. "We are even already imagining what we will do after these sanctions are imposed, how we will minimize their consequences," he said. "Frightening us with sanctions is pointless."

The EU and the US have already imposed numerous sanctions on Russia in an effort to deprive the country of the economic basis for continuing its war of aggression against Ukraine. Western experts, however, also attest to a robustness of the Russian economy that was unexpected. While the many economic problems are obvious, such as the lack of easy access to Western technology, the raw materials superpower continues to earn billions from oil and gas sales. This money, in turn, keeps the war economy running.

RND/dpa