Volodymyr Zelensky tonight opened the door for face-to-face peace talks with Vladimir Putin as he told the Russian despot he ‘will be waiting’ for him in Turkey next week.
The Ukrainian wartime leader urged for a ‘full and lasting ceasefire’ to start tomorrow ahead of any potential showdown in Istanbul next Thursday.
Zelensky’s pledge to meet with Putin came hours after US President Donald Trump demanded that Ukraine come to the table and meet with the Russian President.
‘We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy,’ Zelensky said on X, adding he ‘will be waiting for Putin’ in Turkey on Thursday.
Why Putin is not open to a ceasefire agreement?
Trump earlier said that Moscow is not open to a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine with Putin instead wanting to meet in person to negotiate an ‘end to the bloodbath’.
‘Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY. At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible,’ Trump wrote on his social media account.
Putin has already effectively rejected a ceasefire offer made a day earlier by Ukraine and its European allies.
Putin countered with a proposal to restart direct talks with Ukraine, during which a truce could be negotiated.
The exchange of proposals appeared to leave Kyiv and Moscow deadlocked over the next steps in Washington-led effort to end the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.
