BREAKING: Putin Proposes Direct Peace Talks with Ukraine in Istanbul To Restore ‘Lasting Peace’
Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed direct peace talks with Ukraine to be held on 15 May in Istanbul, marking the most significant diplomatic gesture from the Kremlin in months amid a protracted and devastating war.
Speaking from the Kremlin in the early hours of Sunday, Putin said the talks should aim not merely at a temporary truce, but at “eliminating the root causes of the conflict” and “restoring a long-term, lasting peace”.
“We are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions,” Putin said. “We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already on Thursday, in Istanbul.”
The announcement comes more than three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, resulting in hundreds of thousands of military casualties and a sharp breakdown in relations between Moscow and the West.
While Russia has previously signalled a willingness to negotiate, it has rarely done so without attaching conditions. Sunday’s proposal appears to be a calculated shift, potentially aimed at seizing the diplomatic initiative ahead of intensifying Western pressure.
Putin added that he would speak with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan later in the day to seek Ankara’s continued support as a mediator. Turkey previously hosted failed rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine in 2022.
He accused Kyiv and its Western allies of prioritising “personal political ambitions” over peace, saying, “Our proposal, as they say, is on the table. The decision is now up to the Ukrainian authorities and their curators.”
Despite mounting calls for a negotiated settlement — including from US President Donald Trump and several European leaders — Ukraine has so far insisted that any talks must be predicated on the withdrawal of Russian forces and the restoration of its full territorial integrity.
Neither President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office nor Ukraine’s foreign ministry immediately responded to requests for comment.
The latest overture follows weeks of escalated fighting and failed ceasefire attempts, including a recent three-day Russian truce which Ukraine dismissed as a “theatrical show” due to continued assaults.