During the speech delivered on the night of May 11, Vladimir Putin stated that he was ready to take direct talks with the Ukrainian side in Turkey next week. At the same time, he ignored the Ukrainian ultimatum regarding the suspension of weapons for 30 days. In response to this, Donald Trump said that he would continue working with both sides, and the coming week would be “important”.
On May 12, the German government said that if Russia disagrees with the suspension of weapons in Ukraine by the end of the day, European partners will begin the process of preparing new sanctions. The Kremlin said that “the ultimatum language is unacceptable to Russia.”
Advisor to the Ukrainian president Mychajło Podolak said that on May 15 Wołodymyr Zelanski would go to Turkey and not meet with any other representative of Russia except Vladimir Putin. Later, the president himself confirmed that he would personally fly to Istanbul and hopes that he would stand with the Russian leader face to face.
Sergei Riabkow, deputy minister of foreign affairs of Russia, said that during conversations with Kiev in Istanbul, “reality on the front” should be considered. In particular, he meant the inclusion of Ukraine's territories she had temporarily occupied in Russia.
