Breaking Vladimir Putin has proposed to Ukraine direct peace negotiations, starting on Thursday: “Our offer is on the table”
Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, on May 11. Photo: Gavriil Grigorov / AFP / Profimedia
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed direct discussions with Ukraine in Istanbul on Sunday, which, in his opinion, should aim to establish a sustainable peace and eliminate the profound causes of the war, reports Reuters.
He said that Russia is proposing direct discussions with Ukraine in Istanbul in an attempt to “eliminate the deep causes of the conflict” and to “get the restoration of a long -term long -term peace, rather than a simple break for re -arming.
“We propose Kiev to resume direct negotiations without any prior condition. We offer to Kiev authorities to resume negotiations on Thursday, Istanbul,” Putin said in the early hours of Sunday.
Despite the public and private pressures from the US President Donald Trump and the repeated warnings from the European powers, Putin offered few concessions to conclude the conflict.
Putin said he would talk to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday about the hosting of the negotiations, which he said could lead to a cessation of fire.
“Our offer is on the table”
“Our offer, as they say, is on the table, the decision now belongs to the Ukrainian authorities and their curators, who are guided, it seems, by their personal political ambitions, and not by the interests of their peoples,” he added.
There was no immediate response from Kiev to the proposal, which came in the first hours of Sunday morning.
Russia, Putin said, has proposed several armistice, including a moratorium on hitting energy installations, a cessation of Easter fire and, most recently, the 72-hour armistice during the holidays that mark 80 years since Victoria in World War II. According to the Kremlin leader, Ukraine repeatedly violated the armists.
He claimed that, during the ceasefire in May, Ukraine attacked Russia with 524 air drones, 45 maritime drones and a number of Western missiles and that Russia has rejected five attacks on its regions.
And Ukraine has accused Russia of repeatedly violated its own armistice and, together with the great European powers, asked on Saturday to accept an unconditional cessation of 30 -day fire or to face new “massive” sanctions.
Vladimir Putin rejects European ultimatums
Putin also rejected what he said to be the attempt of European powers to impose “ultimatums”.
The statement warned after the EU increased the pressure on Moscow and threatened it on Saturday with “a massive tightening of sanctions” if Putin rejects the 30-day armistice requested by Europeans and Americans.
The head of the European Commission also said that “the ball is in the land of Russia” and the EU is ready to impose hard sanctions if it does not take a cessation of complete and unconditional fire.
However, the Kremlin initially transmitted that for an armistice it is necessary to stop Western weapons to Ukraine, because otherwise it would have an advantage in the war.
Then, on Saturday, the Kremlin said he would “reflect” at the proposal to cease fire in Ukraine submitted by the Western Allies of Kiev, but warned that it is “useless” to “put pressure on Moscow.”
