Putin Proposes Direct Peace Talks With Ukraine After Three Years Of War | rssama.com

MOSCOW, May 11 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin connected Sunday projected nonstop talks pinch Ukraine connected May 15 successful Istanbul that he said should beryllium aimed astatine bringing a durable bid and eliminating nan guidelines causes of nan war.

Putin sent thousands of troops into Ukraine successful February 2022, unleashing a war that has near hundreds of thousands of soldiers dormant and triggering nan gravest confrontation betwixt Russia and nan West since nan 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

He said Russia was proposing nonstop talks pinch Ukraine successful Istanbul successful an effort to “eliminate nan guidelines causes of nan conflict” and “to execute nan restoration of a long-term, lasting peace” alternatively than simply a region for rearmament.

“We are proposing that Kyiv resume nonstop negotiations without immoderate preconditions,” Putin said from nan Kremlin successful nan early hours of Sunday. “We connection nan Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already connected Thursday, successful Istanbul.”

Despite nationalist and backstage unit from U.S. President Donald Trump and repeated warnings from European powers, Putin has offered fewer concessions towards ending nan conflict.

Putin said that he would speak to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan later connected Sunday astir facilitating nan talks, which he said could lead to a ceasefire.

“Our proposal, arsenic they say, is connected nan table, nan determination is now up to nan Ukrainian authorities and their curators, who are guided, it seems, by their individual governmental ambitions, and not by nan interests of their peoples.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures arsenic he speaks to journalists successful nan Grand Palace astatine nan Kremlin successful Moscow, Russia, Sunday, May 11, 2025 (Sergei Bobylev/Photo big agency RIA Novosti via AP)

via Associated Press

There was nary contiguous consequence from Kyiv to nan proposal, which came successful nan early hours of Sunday morning.

Russia, Putin said, had projected respective ceasefires, including a moratorium connected striking power facilities, an Easter ceasefire and astir precocious nan 72-hour truce during nan celebrations marking 80 years since triumph successful World War Two but accused Ukraine of many times violating nan ceasefires.

He said that during nan May ceasefire Ukraine had attacked Russia pinch 524 aerial drones, 45 oversea drones, a number of Western missiles and that Russia had repelled 5 attacks connected Russian regions.

Ukraine has accused Russia of many times violating its ain ceasefire, and on pinch major European powers, demanded connected Saturday that Putin work together to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire aliases look “massive” caller sanctions.

Putin dismissed what he said was nan effort by immoderate European powers to slap down “ultimatums.”

Peace?

Putin, whose forces person precocious complete nan past year, has stood patient successful his conditions for ending nan war.

In June 2024, he said that Ukraine must officially driblet its NATO ambitions and retreat its troops from nan entirety of nan territory of 4 Ukrainian regions claimed by Russia.

Russian officials person besides projected that nan United States admit Russia’s power complete astir 1 5th of Ukraine and demanded that Ukraine remains neutral though Moscow has said it is not opposed to Kyiv’s ambitions to subordinate nan European Union.

Putin specifically mentioned nan 2022 draught woody which Russia and Ukraine negotiated soon aft nan Russian penetration of February 2022.

Under that draft, a transcript of which Reuters has seen, Ukraine should work together to imperishable neutrality successful return for world information guarantees from nan 5 imperishable members of nan U.N. Security Council: Britain, China, France, Russia and nan United States.

“It was not Russia that collapsed disconnected negotiations successful 2022. It was Kyiv,” Putin said. “Russia is fresh to discuss without immoderate preconditions.”

He thanked China, Brazil, African and Middle Eastern countries and nan United States for their efforts to mediate.

Trump, who says he wants to beryllium remembered arsenic a peacemaker, has many times said he wants to extremity nan “bloodbath” of nan Ukraine warfare which his management casts arsenic a proxy warfare betwixt nan United States and Russia.

Former U.S. President Joe Biden, Western European leaders and Ukraine formed nan penetration arsenic an imperial-style onshore drawback and many times vowed to conclusion Russian forces.

Putin casts nan warfare arsenic a watershed infinitesimal successful Moscow’s relations pinch nan West, which he says humiliated Russia aft nan Soviet Union fell successful 1991 by enlarging NATO and encroaching connected what he considers Moscow’s sphere of influence, including Ukraine.

(Reporting by Marina Bobrova, Dmitry Antonov, Lidia Kelly, Anastasia Lyrchikova and Felix Light; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Lincoln Feast.)