Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Istanbul and meet President Putin on Thursday, May 15th, even if Moscow does not accept his demand for an “unconditional” ceasefire by the deadline on Monday evening, an unnamed Ukrainian official told Axios on Sunday night, May 11th.
The local news site Kyiv Independent contacted the president’s office for confirmation, and while a spokesman said Kyiv is still waiting for the Russian response, they didn’t deny Zelensky’s intention to participate in the first direct peace talks in three years, regardless. “We are ready for all options,” the source said.
The unexpected turn of events, promising tangible progress toward peace for the first time in years, came about on Sunday, when Zelensky—partly acting on U.S. pressure—accepted Putin’s invitation to a summit in Turkey.
It’s meant to be the continuation of the Istanbul talks between March and May 2022, which were abruptly ended by the Ukrainian side following a visit by then British PM Boris Johnson, who pushed Zelensky to keep on fighting in the hope of victory with Western arms and sanctions.
On Saturday, Zelensky—flanked by the leaders of France, Germany, Poland, and the UK—once again demanded Putin to accept a 30-day “unconditional ceasefire” as a prerequisite for further talks or face “major” Western sanctions, something that President Trump also floated days earlier.
President Putin did not comment on the demand, but on Sunday offered to meet Zelensky in person just days later, on May 15th. A few hours later (and being urged by Trump to do so), Zelensky accepted the offer, but said he was still expecting Moscow to agree to the month-long truce by Monday.
“We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy. There is no point in prolonging the killings,” the Ukrainian president said on Sunday.
It’s unclear whether the threat of European sanctions had any effect on Putin. After all, what can be included that hasn’t already been in the previous seventeen EU packages?
On the other hand, as the hundredth day of his second term came and went with no tangible results on the Ukrainian front, Trump has been visibly losing patience with Putin. The U.S. is still holding back on some of the biggest measures, and so it might have been Trump’s hinted participation in new sanctions that broke the ice in Moscow.
What’s more important, however, is that Zelensky is also ready to discuss next steps without getting reassurance for an “unconditional” ceasefire first, which Russia sees as allowing Kyiv to rearm and reposition its troops before a counteroffensive.
“We in Ukraine have no problem holding negotiations—we are ready for any format. I will be in Turkey this Thursday,” Zelensky said later.
“I hope that this time the Russians do not look for reasons why they cannot,” he added. “I will be in Turkey this Thursday, May 15—and I am expecting Putin in Turkey.”
