The US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine should “immediately” agree to a meeting with Russia in Turkey on May 15 to “discuss a possible end to the bloodshed”. At the same time, he believes that Putin does not want to conclude a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine.
He wrote about this on his social network Truth Social.
"This way she can at least find out if a deal is possible, and if not, European leaders and the US will know what the situation is and can act accordingly! Iʼm starting to doubt that Ukraine will even make a deal with Putin, who is currently too busy celebrating the Victory in World War II, which would have been impossible to win (even close!) without the US, HAVE A MEETING, NOW!!!" — the publication says.
Before that, Trump had already commented on the proposals regarding negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv and said that this was "potentially a big day for Russia and Ukraine".
On the night of May 11, Putin proposed resuming direct talks between Ukraine and Russia, which were held at the beginning of the full-scale war in 2022. He said that during the new talks it would be possible to agree on a ceasefire, but did not mention the 30-day ceasefire that was supposed to come into effect on May 12.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called it a "good sign" that the Russians have started thinking about ending the war, but the first step, he said, should be a ceasefire on land and in the sky.
New proposal for a 30-day ceasefire
On May 10, a meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing” took place in Kyiv, attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, British and Polish Prime Ministers Keir Starmer and Donald Tusk, and new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. More than 30 leaders joined online.
Following the conversation, Volodymyr Zelensky said that a complete ceasefire with the Russian Federation should begin on May 12 for at least 30 days. Ukraine and its partners demand this. According to him, the ceasefire should be comprehensive, that is, in the air, at sea, and on land, and monitoring can be ensured together with the United States.
Axios writes: Ukraine is ready for direct talks with Russia if it agrees to a 30-day ceasefire. This is what Zelensky and European leaders told Trump during a call on May 10.
President Zelensky stressed that if Russia does not agree to a full and unconditional ceasefire, tougher sanctions should be imposed on its energy sector and banking system. He also added that the 17th package of EU sanctions is currently being prepared and coordinated with the UK, Norway and the US. This was confirmed by other foreign leaders present.
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