Zelensky challenges Putin to meet for peace talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would be willing to meet Vladimir Putin in Turkey “personally”, after Donald Trump said direct talks were needed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would be willing to meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Turkey “personally”, after Donald Trump said direct talks were needed to determine whether peace was possible.

The Kremlin did not immediately respond to Mr Zelensky’s offer, and the Ukrainian leader did not say whether he would still attend if Russia refused a 30-day ceasefire proposed by Kyiv and its allies.

It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war. 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.

There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 11, 2025

Moscow and Kyiv have not held face-to-face negotiations since March 2022, shortly after the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of that year.

“We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy,” Mr Zelensky said in a post on X.

“There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Turkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses,” he added.

Mr Putin has proposed to resume the talks between the two sides held in Istanbul in March 2022. But he did not respond to the 30-day ceasefire proposal put forward by Kyiv’s allies.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready for direct talks with Russia. Picture: AFP

US President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform earlier: “President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH.

“Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY. At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!”

Vladimir Putin speaks to journalists in the Grand Palace at the Kremlin in Moscow. Picture: Sergei Bobylev/Photo host agency RIA Novosti via AP

Kyiv and its Western allies have said an unconditional ceasefire to pause the fighting is the only way to advance a diplomatic solution in three-year war — Europe’s worst since the Second World War.

Russia’s assault has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people, the destruction of Ukrainian cities and a collapse in relations between Moscow and the West.

On a visit to Kyiv on the weekend, the leaders of France, the UK, Germany and Poland pressured Russia — with Mr Trump’s support — to commit to an unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine starting from Monday, local time.

A local resident points at a damaged private house after Russian shelling in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region on May 11, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Picture: AFP

A girl listens music as she walks past burned out vehicles parked outside a shopping mall following a night-time drone attack on Kyiv. Picture: AFP

Mr Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak suggested Mr Zelensky would only come to the table if Moscow agreed to the ceasefire from Monday.

French President Emmanuel Macron appeared to echo this, insisting on the “necessity” of a ceasefire before talks, the Elysee said in a statement Sunday evening.

In their last meeting in Istanbul in March 2022, Russia and Ukraine produced a now-aborted peace proposal that would have forced Kyiv to adopt neutral status and renounce any NATO ambitions.

Since then, communication channels have only been open for exchanges of prisoners of war and bodies.

Friedrich Merz, Emmanuel Macron, Volodymyr Zelensky, Keir Starmer and Donald Tusk give a joint press conference after their meeting in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Picture: Genya Savilov/AFP

Mr Putin’s proposal, ignoring the 30-day ceasefire proposal, focused on a return to those Istanbul talks.

“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,” Mr Putin said.

“We do not exclude that during these talks we will be able to agree on some new ceasefire,” the Russian leader added.

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, he slammed European “ultimatums” and “anti-Russian rhetoric”.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Mr Putin in a phone call that Ankara was ready to host talks “aimed at achieving a lasting solution”.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Russia’s offer to negotiate directly was a “good sign” but “far from sufficient”, pressuring Moscow to agree to a truce.

Originally published as Zelensky challenges Putin to meet for peace talks