Putin suggests direct peace negotiations with Ukraine following three years of conflict

On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested holding direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15 with the goal of establishing a lasting peace and eradicating the war’s underlying causes.

In February 2022, Putin dispatched thousands of troops into Ukraine, starting a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and the most serious conflict between Russia and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

In an effort to “eliminate the root causes of the conflict” and “to achieve the restoration of a long-term, lasting peace” as opposed to merely a halt for rearmament, he said Russia was putting up direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul.

Early Sunday morning, Putin stated from the Kremlin, “We are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions.” “We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already on Thursday, in Istanbul.”

Putin has made few compromises to end the crisis, despite repeated warnings from European powers and public and private pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Putin said he would discuss helping the discussions, which he suggested may result in a truce, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan later on Sunday.

“Our proposal, as they say, is on the table, the decision is now up 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.”

The proposition was made in the early hours of Sunday morning, and Kyiv did not immediately respond.

Putin claimed that Ukraine had frequently broken the ceasefires that Russia had proposed, including a 72-hour truce during the celebrations marking 80 years since victory in World War Two, an Easter ceasefire, and a prohibition on striking energy installations.

He said that Russia had repulsed five strikes on Russian territories during the May ceasefire, while Ukraine had attacked Russia with 524 airborne drones, 45 marine drones, and several Western missiles.

Ukraine, together with major European nations, asked on Saturday that Putin agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire or face “massive” additional penalties after accusing Russia of regularly breaking its own truce.

Putin rejected what he claimed was an attempt to impose “ultimatums” by certain European states.

CALM?

Putin has been steadfast in his demands for the war to finish, even as his soldiers have made progress in the last 12 months.

He declared in June 2024 that Ukraine must formally abandon its aspirations to join NATO and remove its soldiers from all of the territories of four Russian-claimed Ukrainian regions.

Although Moscow has stated that it is not against Kyiv’s aspirations to join the European Union, Russian officials have also called for Ukraine to remain neutral and suggested that the United States acknowledge Russia’s authority over roughly a fifth of Ukraine.

The 2022 draft agreement that Russia and Ukraine signed soon after the Russian invasion in February 2022 was notably brought up by Putin.

Ukraine should consent to permanent neutrality in exchange for international security guarantees from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council—Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States—according to that proposal, a copy of which Reuters has seen.

“In 2022, it was not Russia that ended the talks. “It was Kyiv,” stated Putin. “Russia is ready to negotiate without any preconditions.”

He expressed gratitude to the United States, China, Brazil, and the nations of Africa and the Middle East for their mediation efforts.

Trump, who claims he wants to be seen as a peacemaker, has stated time and time again that he wants to put an end to the “bloodbath” that is the conflict in Ukraine, which his administration portrays as a proxy conflict between Russia and the United States.

Ukraine, Western European politicians, and former U.S. President Joe Biden all characterized the invasion as an imperial-style territory grab and made repeated promises to destroy Russian forces.

Putin portrays the conflict as a turning point in Moscow’s relationship with the West, which he claims degraded Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 by expanding NATO and invading Ukraine and other areas he claims are within Moscow’s sphere of influence.