«I will be waiting for Putin on 15 May in Turkey. Personally»: Zelenskyy is ready to meet with Russian President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would personally wait for Putin in Turkey on 15 May for talks. Photo: OP

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was looking forward to holding direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkey on 15 May.

He wrote about this on Telegram.

He stressed that from 12 May, Ukraine expects a full and lasting ceasefire, which will form the basis for further diplomatic steps.

«We expect a full and lasting ceasefire from tomorrow to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy. There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Turkey on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for reasons why they cannot,» Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote.

As a reminder, on 11 May, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his desire to resume direct talks with Ukraine, which were suspended at the end of 2022. He also said that he planned to address Turkish President Recep Erdogan with a proposal to organise the talks.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on Russian President Vladimir Putin' s proposal for direct talks, calling it a «good sign». However, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that a ceasefire was needed first to really start a dialogue with Russia.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer to hold talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul on 15 May.

US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine should accept the Kremlin's offer to hold direct talks in Istanbul on 15 May: «Have that meeting, now».