Ukraine 'ready to meet' Russia after Putin call for peace talks

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country is "ready to meet" Russian representatives after Vladimir Putin suggested peace talks, subject to an unconditional ceasefire starting on Monday.

Russia's president put forward the proposal for talks in Istanbul on Thursday as European leaders including Sir Keir Starmer threatened him with fresh sanctions if Russia failed to comply with an unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting on Monday. Reacting to Mr Putin's suggestion, US President Donald Trump said it was "a potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine" and he would "work with both sides to make sure it happens".

Mr Zelenskyy has also welcomed the proposal, but reiterated his call for a ceasefire before talks happen. He said: "It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war.

The entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time. And the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire.

"There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire - full, lasting, and reliable - starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet." The Kremlin said Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan "fully supported" Mr Putin's proposal and was ready to host the talks in Istanbul, after the two leaders spoke over the phone on Sunday.

The US State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend the informal NATO foreign ministers meeting in Turkey scheduled from Wednesday to Friday to discuss ending the war. But security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Matt Barbet there is a "long way between now and Thursday" and a "fair bit of brinkmanship" going on.

He said even if the talks do go ahead "the chances are they'll extend over a long period and there won't be a ceasefire as a result of them, and the Russians will keep playing this out". On Saturday, the prime minister met the Ukrainian president alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Kyiv.

Announcing the 30-day ceasefire proposal, the leaders said they had secured the backing of Mr Trump after briefing him on the progress made on the so-called "coalition of the willing" plans in a 20-minute phone call. Speaking at the Kremlin in the early hours of Sunday, Mr Putin did not directly address the proposal but instead offered to restart peace talks Russia and Ukraine held in 2022.

"We propose the Kyiv authorities resume the negotiations they interrupted at the end of 2022... to resume direct negotiations...

without any preconditions... to begin without delay next Thursday 15 May in Istanbul," he said.

Speaking to Sky News Russia correspondent Ivor Bennett after the statement, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow does not "share the view of Starmer". "We think that the seriousness is to propose negotiations," he said, denying the move was a delaying tactic.

Mr Peskov said there had to be negotiations to find a way for a ceasefire, adding: "A simplistic approach to a ceasefire is inappropriate." Russia's own unilateral three-day ceasefire, declared for the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, expired on Saturday, and Ukraine said Russian forces have repeatedly violated it. After the summit in Kyiv, Sir Keir said: "All of us here, together with the US, are calling Putin out.

"So we are clear, all five leaders here - all the leaders of the meeting we just had with the coalition of the willing - an unconditional ceasefire, rejecting Putin's conditions, and clear that if he turns his back on peace, we will respond. "Working with President Trump, with all our partners, we will ramp up sanctions and increase our military aid for Ukraine's defence to pressure Russia back to the table." ????Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim on your podcast app???? During Mr Putin's statement on Sunday, he insisted he would support peace talks, adding: "We are committed to serious negotiations with Ukraine." He told reporters: "Their purpose is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict, to establish a long-term, lasting peace.

"We do not rule out that during these negotiations it will be possible to agree on some new truces, a new ceasefire." Read more:Will Trump force Putin to comply with ceasefire?Russia's VE Day parade felt like celebration of warMichael Clarke Q&A on Ukraine warUkraine and Russia argue over ceasefire breaches Responding to Mr Putin's proposal, Mr Macron said the Russian leader was "looking for a way forward, but he still has a desire to buy time". Mr Putin's proposed negotiations are "a first step, but they are not sufficient," he told French broadcaster BFM.

"An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations, by definition.".