The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will personally wait for Putin in Turkey on Thursday, May 15.
"We expect a ceasefire from tomorrow — complete and lasting, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy. There is no point in dragging out the killings. And I will wait for Putin on Thursday in Turkey. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for reasons why they cannot," the president wrote.
On the night of May 11, Putin proposed resuming direct talks between Ukraine and Russia, which had been in place since 2022, at the start of the full-scale war. He said that a ceasefire could be agreed upon during the new talks, but he did not mention the 30-day ceasefire that was supposed to take effect on May 12.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously called it a "good sign" that the Russians are thinking about ending the war, but the first step, he said, should be a ceasefire on land and in the sky.
"There is no point in continuing the killings even for a day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire — complete, lasting, and reliable — starting tomorrow, May 12, and Ukraine is ready to meet," Zelensky said.
The US President Donald Trump later called on Ukraine to “immediately” agree to a meeting with Russia in Turkey to “discuss a possible end to the bloodshed”. At the same time, he wrote that Putin did not want to conclude a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine.
New proposal for a 30-day ceasefire
A meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing” took place in Kyiv on May 10. Among those present were French President Emmanuel Macron, British and Polish prime ministers Keir Starmer and Donald Tusk, and Germany’s new 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.
Zelensky has called for tougher sanctions against Russiaʼs energy sector and banking system if it does not agree to a full ceasefire. The EU is currently negotiating a 17th package of sanctions with Britain, Norway and the US.
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