Putin rejected proposal for ceasefire from 12 May and proposed resuming direct talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul: "Without any preconditions"
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin says he is offering Ukraine to resume direct talks in Turkey.
He said this at a press conference on the night of Sunday, 11 May, Censor.NET reports.
The Kremlin leader proposed to resume direct talks with Ukraine "without any preconditions" in Istanbul on Thursday, 15 May.
Putin said that on Sunday, 11 May, he would talk to Turkish President Recep Erdogan and ask for the possibility of holding talks.
"We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume the negotiations that were interrupted by them at the end of 2022. We propose to resume direct negotiations without any preconditions. We propose to start without delay next Thursday, 15 May, in Istanbul, where they were held before and where they were interrupted," the Russian leader said.
In his speech, Putin also called the so-called "SMO" a war for the first time.
"There is fighting, a war going on now. And we propose to resume negotiations," the Russian dictator said.
At the same time, during his speech, the Kremlin leader made no mention of the Coalition of the Willing's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, which was supposed to start on 12 May.
