Putin proposes direct talks with Ukraine ‘without preconditions’

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed restarting direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15 "without preconditions".

Speaking to reporters in the Kremlin in the early hours of Sunday, Putin proposed to "restart" the peace talks Russia and Ukraine held in 2022.

His remarks came after leaders from four major European countries threatened to ratchet up pressure on Putin if he did not accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine that they offered on Saturday in a strong show of unity with Kyiv.

The leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland said their proposal for a ceasefire to start on Monday was supported by US President Donald Trump, whom they had briefed over the phone earlier in the day.

Putin did not directly address this latest ceasefire proposal in his remarks on Saturday, even as Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov earlier on Saturday told CNN that Moscow would need to consider it.

Russia's own unilateral three-day ceasefire, declared for the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany expires on Saturday, and Ukraine says Russian forces have repeatedly violated it. In March, the United States proposed an immediate, limited 30-day truce, which Ukraine accepted, but the Kremlin has held out for terms more to its liking.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking to reporters alongside the European leaders in Kyiv, called their meeting "a very important signal".

In a joint statement, as published on Zelenskyy's official website, the five leaders called for a ceasefire "lasting at least 30 days" from Monday, to make room for a diplomatic push to end the war.

"An unconditional ceasefire by definition cannot be subject to any conditions. If Russia calls for such conditions, this can only be considered as an effort to prolong the war and undermine diplomacy," the statement read.