Truce or sanctions: Germany gives Russia until the end of the day
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- Mariia Khamitsevych
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15:32, 12 May, 2025
The German government calls on Russia to agree to an unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine. If a ceasefire is not reached by the end of the day on 12 May, Berlin, together with its EU partners, will begin preparing a new package of sanctions.
This was stated by government spokesman Stefan Cornelius, European Truth reports, citing the German newspaper Bild.
Stefan Cornelius stressed that Russia has until the end of the day to agree to a 30-day ceasefire without preconditions. In case of refusal, European countries will immediately start the process of preparing new restrictions against Moscow.
«Time is running out, there are twelve hours left,» he said.
Stefan Cornelius confirmed that political advisers would start working on sanctions measures at the end of the day. At the same time, the 17th package of sanctions is being prepared in Brussels in coordination with the ongoing negotiations in Istanbul.
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».
Subsequently, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that he was looking forward to direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 15 May in Turkey.