Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a statement to the media at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, May 11, 2025. /VCG
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that Russia was proposing direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15 in an attempt to "eliminate the root causes of the conflict" and "to achieve the restoration of a long-term, lasting peace" rather than simply a pause for rearmament.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a statement to the media at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, May 11, 2025. /VCG
"We are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions," Putin said from the Kremlin in the early hours of Sunday. "We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already on Thursday, in Istanbul."