KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said that Kyiv would meet with Moscow for talks in Istanbul on May 15 but said that Russia must first commit to a 30-day ceasefire starting on Monday.
Zelensky — using rare language since Moscow launched it’s invasion more than three years ago that has devastated Ukraine — said he did see a “positive sign” from Russia.
The warring sides have not held direct talks since the start of the invasion — launched by the Kremlin in February 2022.
Zelensky’s comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed that Kyiv and Moscow meet on May 15.
However, in the nighttime press conference at the Kremlin, Putin did not comment on the 30-day ceasefire proposal put forward by Kyiv and its European allies.
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.
Russia’s invasion has dragged on for more than three years and killed thousands of people.
“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 15, 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,“ Zelensky 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 that an unconditional ceasefire to pause fighting is the only way to advance a diplomatic solution to the three-year-old conflict — Europe’s worst since the Second World War.
Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak said that Kyiv would only meet 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. It occupies around a fifth of the country’s territory.
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 ceasefire
Hours before Zelensky’s comments, Putin had responded to the Europeans’ ultimatum in a press conference at almost 1:00 am (2200 GMT) in the Kremlin.
“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, adding that he would talk to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan soon to ask for his help to facilitate the talks.
“We do not exclude that during these talks we will be able to agree on some new ceasefire,“ Putin said in the Kremlin address.
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”.
Returning from Ukraine, French leader Emmanuel Macron said he expected Russia to commit to the ceasefire “without setting any condition”.
“There can be no negotiations while weapons are speaking,“ he said on social media.
US President Donald Trump, however, 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 also accused Moscow of launching more than 100 drones on Ukraine, after a Russian-announced 72-hour ceasefire had ended at midnight on Saturday.
Kyiv had not reported any drone attacks since Thursday, when the ceasefire came into effect, although it did accuse Moscow of violating the truce hundreds of times.
Russia also accused Ukraine of not observing the ceasefire.
“On the night of May 11 (from 2:00 am on May 11), the enemy attacked with 108 Shahed attack drones and various types of imitator drones,“ Kyiv’s air force said, adding that it had downed 60 of them.
