Turning point in Russia-Ukraine War? Putin asks for direct conversations with Kyiv 'without conditions' | Today news

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed direct discussions with Ukraine “without conditions” in Istanbul on May 15, Thursday. This renewed offer came in response to Ukraine and its allies who requested Moscow to commit itself to an unconditional ceasefire of 30 days or face extra sanctions. Referring to the unsuccessful Peace Talks in 2022 in March in Istanbul, Putin “started” again on Sunday. In remarks to reporters, Putin said: “We are committed to having serious negotiations with Ukraine.” He added that he did not exclude that he agreed to a ceasefire later in the course of direct conversations with Ukraine. The Moscow’s proposals said Putin said that Russia has proposed several ceasefire in recent months-a stop on the strikes on energy infrastructure, which has agreed to Ukraine, a one-sided 30-hour Easter stopping and another one-sided ceasefire on May 8-10 that has since fallen. Ukrainian officials said Russia has repeatedly violated. Putin accused Ukraine on Sunday of “sabotaging these initiatives again and again and launched several attacks on Russia. In March, the United States proposed an immediate, limited ceasefire of 30 days, which accepted Ukraine, but the Kremlin held out the conditions of the conditions. Putin once again said on Sunday that the Kremlin needed a ceasefire that would lead to a ‘lasting peace’ instead of one that would enable Ukraine to regain and mobilize more men in his armed forces. He said he would talk to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and asked him to facilitate the peace talks on May 15. Shortly after Russia’s full -scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Turkey offered unsuccessful talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators to end the host. The proposed agreement allegedly included provisions for the neutral status of Ukraine and limited the armed forces, while the discussions on the status of Russian-occupied areas were delayed. Moscow blamed Kyiv and the West for the talks collapsing. Putin said that “those who really want peace do not help but support” his suggestion to restart the peace conversations. The proposal of “a very important signal” came after leaders from four major European countries threatened to increase the pressure on Moscow if it did not accept an unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine that they offered on Saturday in a strong performance of unity with Kyiv. The leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland said their proposal that a ceasefire should begin on Monday was supported by US President Donald Trump, who informed them earlier in the day. Trump has called on Ukraine and Russia to meet for “very high levels”, saying that they are “very close to an agreement” to end the bloody three -year war. The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, previously said he was ready for peace talks, but only after a ceasefire existed. Zelenskyy spoke to reporters with European leaders in Kyiv on Saturday and called their meeting “a very important signal”. In a joint statement, as published on the official website of Zelenskyy, the five leaders of Monday asked for a ceasefire ‘at least 30 days’ to make way for a diplomatic attempt to end the war. “An unconditional ceasefire cannot by definition not be subject to any conditions. If Russia asks for such conditions, it can only be considered an attempt to extend the war and undermine diplomacy,” the statement says.