The Ukrainian leader has said he would be “waiting” for the Russian president on Thursday but only if Moscow agrees to a truce first
FILE PHOTO: Vladimir Zelensky. © Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has stated he is ready to “personally” meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Türkiye on Thursday but only if Moscow first agrees to a truce. His statement came in response to Russia’s proposal to begin peace talks without pre-conditions.
“I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally,” Zelensky wrote in a post on X on Sunday. He still maintained that Kiev awaits “a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy.” The Ukrainian leader also stated that he expected Moscow not to look for “excuses” this time.
On Saturday, the Russian president offered Kiev the opportunity to restart direct negotiations in Istanbul, which it unilaterally walked away from in 2022. Moscow was ready to return to the negotiating table without any preconditions, the Russian leader said at the time.
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Russia has repeatedly stated that it was ready for peace talks at any time. It also maintained that it was seeking a lasting solution to the conflict rather than a temporary one. It opposed Kiev’s 30-day truce demand on the grounds that Ukraine would use it to rearm and regroup its military.
Zelensky issued a similar demand on Saturday following a meeting with a group of European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. They also supported Kiev’s demand that Russia agree to a truce.
US President Donald Trump also expressed his hope that Moscow and Kiev could soon agree to a month-long truce. He also warned that “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions” if an agreement is reached but not respected.
On Sunday, the American president said that Kiev should agree to Moscow’s peace talks proposal “immediately.” According to him, Moscow did not want a mere ceasefire but wanted “to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath.”
The Kremlin has rejected what it described as external pressure surrounding the proposed truce. Putin also noted that Kiev violated the three ceasefires proposed by Moscow: the 30-day US-brokered moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure, which expired last month, the unconditional Easter ceasefire, and the recently lapsed 72-hour Victory Day ceasefire.