President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he would attend talks with Russia on the war in Ukraine this week only if Vladimir Putin is also there and goaded him by saying the Russian leader was scared to meet him face-to-face.
The Kremlin has yet to say whether Mr Putin will take part in the talks scheduled to be held in Istanbul on Thursday, more than three years into the deadliest conflict in Europe since the second World War.
The planned talks have become the main focus of peace efforts led by US president Donald Trump, who is sending senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, three sources familiar with the plans said. Mr Trump has also offered to attend.
Mr Zelenskiy said he wanted to negotiate an unconditional 30-day ceasefire as the first step towards ending the war, and that Mr Putin must take part in talks because “absolutely everything in Russia” depends on him.
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“If he takes the step to say he is ready for a ceasefire, then it opens the way to discussing all the elements to end the war,” he said. “He is scared of direct talks with me.”
Both Moscow and Kyiv have sought to show they are working towards peace after Mr Trump prioritised ending the war, which has raged since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but have yet to agree any clear path.
[ The Irish Times view on Ukraine-Russia peace talks: keep the pressure on PutinOpens in new window ]
Mr Putin on Sunday proposed direct talks with Ukraine, after ignoring a Ukrainian proposal for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire. Mr Trump publicly told Mr Zelenskiy to accept the proposal.
The Ukrainian leader then said he would be waiting for Mr Putin in Istanbul on Thursday, though the Kremlin chief had never made clear he intended to travel himself.
A senior US official said it was unclear whether anyone from the Russian government would show up.
Asked who would represent Russia at the talks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “As soon as the president sees fit, we will announce it.”
Reuters reported last year that Mr Putin was open to discussing a ceasefire with Mr Trump but that Moscow ruled out making any major territorial concessions and demanded that Kyiv abandon ambitions to join Nato.
Ukraine has said it is ready for talks but a ceasefire is needed first, a position supported by its European allies.
Mr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, on Tuesday reiterated Ukraine’s stance that any negotiations must come after a ceasefire.
A senior Russian official, deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying Moscow was ready for serious talks on Ukraine but doubted Kyiv’s capacity for negotiations.
The agencies quoted him as saying realities “on the ground” should be recognised, including the incorporation of what Moscow calls “new territories” into Russia – a reference to territory in Ukraine that is occupied by Russian forces.
US officials want Russia to agree to a comprehensive 30-day land, air, sea and critical infrastructure ceasefire, a senior US official said. European nations have threatened to impose more sanctions on Russia if it does not agree to the ceasefire. – Reuters
