Putin proposes direct peace talks with Ukraine after three years of war

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed direct talks with Ukraine on May 15 in Istanbul that he said should be aimed at bringing a durable peace and eliminating the root causes of the war.

Putin sent thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, unleashing a war that has left hundreds of thousands of soldiers dead and triggering the gravest confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

He said Russia was proposing direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul in an attempt to “eliminate the root causes of the conflict” and “to achieve the restoration of a long-term, lasting peace” rather than simply a pause for rearmament

“We are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions,” Putin said from the Kremlin in the early hours of Sunday. “We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already on Thursday, in Istanbul.”

Despite public and private pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump and repeated warnings from European powers, Putin has offered few concessions towards ending the conflict.

Vladimir Putin said that he would speak to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan later on Sunday about facilitating the talks, which he said could lead to a ceasefire.

“Our proposal, as they say, is on the table, the decision is now up to the Ukrainian authorities and their curators, who are guided, it seems, by their personal political ambitions, and not by the interests of their peoples.”

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There was no immediate response from Kyiv to the proposal, which came in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Russia, Vladimir Putin said, had proposed several ceasefires, including a moratorium on striking energy facilities, an Easter ceasefire and most recently the 72-hour truce during the celebrations marking 80 years since victory in World War Two but accused Ukraine of repeatedly violating the ceasefires.

He said that during the May ceasefire Ukraine had attacked Russia with 524 aerial drones, 45 sea drones, a number of Western missiles and that Russia had repelled five attacks on Russian regions.

Ukraine has accused Russia of repeatedly violating its own ceasefire, and along with major European powers, demanded on Saturday that Putin agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire or face “massive” new sanctions.

Vladimir Putin dismissed what he said was the attempt by some European powers to slap down “ultimatums”.