Kyiv (TDI): Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that he would only attend the peace talks in Istanbul if Russian President, Vladimir Putin, joined himself. The remarks came ahead of his visit to Türkiye. He also added that the Russian President is afraid to meet him face-to-face.
Although the Russian President announced on Sunday that he is ready for talks to bring an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine without any preconditions, the Kremlin has not yet clarified whether President Putin himself will participate in the talks.
The US President has placed great emphasis on the planned talks in Istanbul. He has not only offered to attend himself but also sent senior envoys such as Keith Kellogg and Steve Witkoff.
Ukraine has always supported diplomacy. I am ready to come to Türkiye. Unfortunately, the world still has not received a clear response from Russia to the numerous proposals for a ceasefire.
Russian shelling and assaults continue. Moscow has remained silent all day regarding the… pic.twitter.com/4AGiLX5Sdf
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 12, 2025
President Zelenskyy said that he wanted to negotiate an unconditional and full 30-day ceasefire as a first step toward ending the three-year-old war, and that President Putin must participate in talks as “absolutely everything in Russia” currently depends on him.
He further said, “If he takes the step to say he is ready for a ceasefire, then it opens the way to discussing all the elements to end the war.”
However, commenting on who would represent Russia in talks, the Kremlin’s official spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov said, “As soon as the president sees fit, we will announce it.”
Last year, President Putin announced that he was ready for talks, but he had also ruled out any major territorial concessions and demanded Ukraine to abandon its desire to join NATO.
As of recent, Ukraine has adopted a position that a full ceasefire is needed first before any further discussions regarding territories. Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, reiterated Ukraine’s stance, on Tuesday, that any negotiations must come after the ceasefire.
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On the other hand, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergei Ryabkov, said that Russia is ready for talks but doubts Ukraine’s capacity for negotiations. He further said that the realities “on the ground” should be realized, which was a direct reference to Russia’s occupation of new Ukrainian territories.
President Zelenskyy, the US President, Donald Trump, and the European leaders have been pushing Moscow to engage in direct talks with Ukraine, as well as implement an immediate 30-day full ceasefire to put a halt on attacks on Ukraine through land, air, and sea.
Both the US President and the European leaders have threatened to impose more sanctions in case Russia fails to comply.
Javaria Khalid is a writer and researcher, who specializes in Pakistan's Foreign Policy Analysis, transatlantic geopolitics, and Pakistan’s relations with the European countries and the EU. She can be reached at javariakhalid011@outlook.com
