Russian president Vladimir Putin has invited Ukraine to take part in ‘direct talks’ on 15 May, hours after European leaders urged Moscow to agree to a 30-day ceasefire.
In a rare televised late-night address from the Kremlin, Putin said Russia was seeking “serious negotiations” aimed at “moving towards a lasting, strong peace”.
Earlier on Saturday, United Kingdom prime minister sir Keir Starmer travelled to Kyiv with counterparts from France, Germany and Poland to put pressure on Russia to commit to an unconditional ceasefire, starting Monday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said Moscow would “have to think this through” – but warned that “trying to pressure us is quite useless”.
In his own statement, Putin said he could “not rule out” the possibility that the talks could result in Russia and Ukraine agreeing “a new truce”. But he did not address calls for a 30-day ceasefire directly.
The Russian leader said the proposed talks should be held in the Turkish city of Istanbul, as they have been before, and that he would speak to Turkey’s president Recep Erdogan on Sunday to discuss the details.
Kyiv has not responded to the invitation
– BBC News
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