Putin proposes direct peace talks

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin yesterday proposed direct talks with Ukraine aimed at ending the war, an initiative welcomed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy who said Kyiv was willing to talk but Moscow must agree to a ceasefire.

- 

Putin sent thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, unleashing a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and triggered the gravest confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

With Russian forces grinding forward, the Kremlin chief has offered few, if any, concessions so far but has proposed talks with Ukraine in the Turkish city of Istanbul that he said would be held without preconditions and aimed at a durable peace.

"We are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions," Putin said in a televised statement from the Kremlin. "We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already on Thursday, in Istanbul."

Zelenskiy said it was "a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war" but "the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire."

"We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire — full, lasting, and reliable - starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet," he said.

US President Donald Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker and has repeatedly promised to end the war, said a great day was dawning for Russia and Ukraine if the "bloodbath" of the war could be ended.