Putin Offers Face-to-Face Talks With Zelensky After 39 Months of War—Turkey to Host

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed direct talks with Ukraine. Putin has said that this conversation will start from May 15 'without delay'. The Russian President has not laid down any pre-conditions for this conversation with Ukraine in Istanbul, Turkey on May 15. This is the first time such a proposal has come from Putin since the start of the Ukraine war. Ukraine and Russia have been fighting for the last 39 months (since February 2022). There has been a huge loss of life and property on both sides, especially in Ukraine.

Putin said in a Legislature address on Saturday that Russia wants serious negotiations to move towards a lasting peace by addressing the root causes of the conflict with Ukraine. The statement came hours after UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron visited Ukraine. These leaders had urged Russia to agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said in response that Moscow would consider it but would not succumb to any pressure.

Peace deal is expected

Putin said in his statement that he does not rule out the possibility of a ceasefire and peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine through talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul. He said he would speak to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday to discuss the outline of this meeting. There has been no response to this proposal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yet.

Many leaders from France, Germany, UK and Poland and Europe have recently visited Ukraine and met President Zelensky. These leaders warned Russia that if it does not stop the fighting for 30 days, more sanctions will be imposed on it. The UK Prime Minister said that the US President has also said that Russia should stop the fighting. On this, Russia has said that no one will gain anything by the strategy of pressurizing it.

After giving a strong message to European leaders saying not to put pressure, Putin has changed his stance and proposed talks. Putin has already said that he wants peace but Ukraine is getting weapons and it is taking the war forward. Putin says that for lasting peace, it is necessary to discuss the root causes of the war.