The Russian president stated he desires to begin negotiations with Kyiv to finish the battle subsequent Thursday in Istanbul.
Talking on the Kremlin within the early hours of Sunday, Putin didn’t tackle a 30-day ceasefire proposal drawn up hours earlier by Kyiv’s European allies, reportedly with US backing.
“We suggest to the Kyiv authorities to renew the talks that they broke off in 2022, and, I emphasise, with none preconditions,” Putin stated.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators held direct talks in Istanbul within the first weeks of the battle, however didn’t conform to halt the combating, which has been raging ever since.
“We suggest to begin (negotiations) directly on Thursday Could 15 in Istanbul,” Putin stated, including that he would discuss to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan quickly to ask his assist to facilitate the talks.
Putin stated he was “dedicated to severe negotiations with Ukraine” and that he needed talks to “eradicate the foundation causes of the battle and to determine a long-lasting peace”.
Russia’s references to the “root causes” of the battle sometimes discuss with alleged grievances with Kyiv and the West that Moscow has put ahead as justification for launching the offensive in February 2022.
They embrace pledges to “de-Nazify” Ukraine, shield Russian audio system within the nation’s east, push again in opposition to NATO enlargement and cease Ukraine’s westward geopolitical drift.
Kyiv and the West have rejected all of them, saying Russia’s offensive is nothing greater than an imperial-style land seize.
“We don’t exclude that in these talks we can agree on some new ceasefire,” Putin stated.
However he additionally accused Ukraine’s Western backers of eager to “proceed warfare with Russia” and – with out mentioning the precise Ukraine-European proposal for a 30-day ceasefire – slammed European “ultimatums” and “anti-Russian rhetoric”.
The tackle within the Kremlin, attended by AFP, got here hours after French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk gathered in Kyiv in a symbolic present of help for Ukraine.
Along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, they pressed Russia on Saturday to simply accept a 30-day unconditional ceasefire beginning Monday, threatening Moscow with new sanctions if it didn’t comply.
The US and different nations again the proposal, they stated.
The leaders additionally held a video convention with their counterparts from about 20 different member nations of the “coalition of the prepared” supporting Ukraine.
“Within the occasion of a violation of this ceasefire, we have now agreed that huge sanctions shall be ready and coordinated between Europeans and People,” French President Emmanuel Macron stated.
The US and Ukraine have for weeks pushed the same proposal, which Russia has not accepted.
