Putin calls for ‘direct’ and ‘immediate’ talks with Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for “direct talks” with Ukraine, saying they should “start without delay, as early as 15 May”.

“We seek serious talks… to remove the root causes of the conflict and start moving towards a lasting, strong peace”, he said on Saturday, in a rare televised late-night address from the Kremlin.

It came hours after European leaders – including UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron – visited Ukraine and urged Russia to agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said in response that Moscow would “have to think this through” – but warned that “trying to pressure us is quite useless”.

In his statement, Putin said he would “not rule out” the possibility that the talks – which he proposed should take place in Turkey’s largest city Istanbul – could result in Russia and Ukraine agreeing “new ceasefires, a new truce”.

The Russian leader said he would speak to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday to discuss the details.

Kyiv has not responded to the invitation, which came on the same day European leaders travelled to the Ukrainian capital and called on Moscow to agree to a month-long ceasefire, starting on Monday.

Leaders of France, Germany, the UK and Poland – part of the so-called “coalition of the willing” – were hosted by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and took part in a joint news conference during the trip.

They warned that “new and massive” sanctions would be imposed on Russia’s energy and banking sectors should Putin not agree to the unconditional 30-day ceasefire “in the air, at sea and on land”.

They also said they had discussed the proposal with Donald Trump. Sir Keir later told the BBC the US president was “absolutely clear” that their suggestion of an immediate ceasefire was a “demand that must be met”.

After the meeting – a symbolic response to Victory Day celebrations, hosted by Putin in Moscow a day earlier – Zelensky thanked the assembled leaders for “standing with” Ukraine.

“Today we will focus on how to build and guarantee real and lasting security,” he said.

Responding to the proposal, the Kremlin’s Peskov said: “It is a new development. But trying to pressure us is quite useless.”

Russian state media also quoted him as saying that statements from Europe were “generally confrontational in nature rather than aimed at trying to revive our relations”.

Moscow has previously said that before considering a ceasefire, the West must first halt its military aid to Ukraine.

Putin later made his own statement, with video showing journalists assembled in a hall inside the Kremlin.

“This would be the first step towards a long-term, lasting peace, rather than a prologue to more armed hostilities after the Ukrainian armed forces get new armaments and personnel, after feverish trench-digging and the establishment of new command posts,” he said.

“Who needs peace like that?”

Putin also accused Ukraine of having repeatedly failed to respond to multiple ceasefire proposals from Moscow, including a 30-day halt in attacks on energy infrastructure and last month’s Easter truce.

The day after Moscow agreed to stop targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Zelensky told EU leaders that “nothing had changed” and attacks continued.

Another ceasefire Putin flagged was one he ordered in April to coincide with World War Two commemorations. It ended on Saturday at midnight local time (21:00 GMT).

Kyiv had rejected the unilateral, three-day ceasefire, calling it a “theatrical show”. Instead, Zelensky reiterated calls for a longer truce of at least 30 days.

On Thursday – the same day the supposed ceasefire took effect – Ukraine accused Russia of more than 730 violations and said it was responding “appropriately”.

Russia’s defence ministry insisted the truce was being observed, before accusing Ukraine of 488 violations.

“In spite of everything, we are offering the Kyiv authorities to resume the negotiations… resume direct talks, and I stress, without any preconditions,” Putin said on Saturday.

The last direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv took place shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began more than three years ago.