Putin Proposes Direct Talks with Ukraine on May 15; Trump Pushes Zelenskyy to Attend
May 11—Russian President Vladimir Putin this morning moved to break the stalemate in peace negotiations to end NATO's war against Russia in Ukraine by offering to meet directly with Ukrainian leaders in Istanbul on May 15. The meeting, and any further meetings, Putin said, have one purpose: to end the war and stop the killing that has now gone on for more than three years. The talks will be held without any preconditions.
Kyiv has expressed a desire for direct talks, especially after negotiations mediated by the United States made little progress. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would meet with the Russians but only after they agree to a 30-day ceasefire, which Putin has rejected as a ruse to allow Ukraine a pause to re-arm and bolster its defenses along a front line that is facing Russian attacks and possible new offensives. In offering direct talks, Putin refused to extend the unilateral three-day truce he had put into effect from May 8 to May 11 to coincide with the Victory Day celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Zelenskyy had called the truce a "theatrical stunt" and refused to endorse it, with both sides charging that there were numerous violations. Nonetheless, backed by a chorus of NATO leaders who arrived in Kyiv to offer their support for his war against "the Russian hordes," British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Polish President Donald Tusk demanded that Putin agree to the ceasefire before any talks take place.
Trump’s Frustration and Ultimatum
Sources report that Trump became furious over what he saw as sabotage of what he thought was a real breakthrough that could lead to ending a war that had eluded him and his chief negotiator, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Trump had reportedly played a role in getting Putin to make the suggestion of direct talks, contradicting his previous demand for the 30-day ceasefire.
Trump immediately responded on his Truth Social media platform:
"This was a potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine… Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never-ending 'bloodbath' hopefully comes to an end. It will be a whole new, and much better, WORLD. I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens. The USA wants to focus, instead, on Rebuilding and Trade. A BIG week upcoming!"
Zelenskyy Hesitates but Commits to Talks
Zelenskyy continued to push for a ceasefire but still acknowledged Putin's offer. He said Ukraine is "ready to meet" Moscow but reiterated his demand for a ceasefire to come first.
"It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war," Zelenskyy wrote on his X account. "The entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time. And the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire. There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire—full, lasting, and reliable—starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet."
Gen. Keith Kellogg, whom Trump has assigned to "handle" the Ukrainian side, backed Zelenskyy in a social media post, saying Putin has it backwards—first the ceasefire, then negotiations.
At this point, Trump decided to make things crystal clear—Zelenskyy must take the meeting as offered, even without a ceasefire. In a new post to Truth Social, he wrote:
"President Putin of Russia doesn't want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH. Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY. At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!"
Zelenskyy, still pressing for a ceasefire, later tweeted that he planned to go to Istanbul on May 15, hoping that the Russians would show up and that serious discussions would lead to progress toward a real peace agreement.
Putin’s Stance on Ceasefire
Putin has not ruled out a ceasefire but insists that discussion must come first:
"We are determined to have serious negotiations with Ukraine. The purpose is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and establish long-term, lasting peace with a historical perspective.
"We do not exclude that during these negotiations it will be possible to agree to some new truces, a new ceasefire. Moreover, a real ceasefire that would be observed not only by the Russian side, but also by the Ukrainian side."
He continued:
"This would be the first step, I repeat, toward long-term sustainable peace and not a prologue to a continuation of the armed conflict after rearmament, re-completion of Ukraine's armed forces, and feverish digging of trenches and new strongpoints."
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Sky News: "We think that the seriousness is to propose negotiations… A simplistic approach to a ceasefire is inappropriate."
Direct Talks for the First Time Since 2022
Trump has always favored direct negotiations as the only way to end the war. "The President believes that there is a limit to mediation when parties refuse to discuss volatile matters, such as borders and territory," said a source familiar with the process. "With direct discussions, the role of the mediator is different. It is to keep the process on track. That's what Trump and Steve intend to do."
If the meeting takes place on May 15, it will be the first direct discussions since the early weeks of the war. Those discussions resulted in what many thought was a workable peace deal that would have ended the war in April-May 2022. Both Putin and Zelenskyy initialed its terms, only for NATO to intervene, with then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly threatening Zelenskyy and demanding he withdraw support from the agreement—a decision that may have cost more than a million casualties on both sides.