Putin mentioned the 2022 peace talks held in Istanbul shortly after the full-scale invasion of Moscow in March and proposed to “restart” them in a speech to reporters in the early hours of Sunday.
“We are committed to serious negotiations with Ukraine,” Putin said, adding that he did not rule out agreeing to a ceasefire during the direct negotiations with Ukraine.
Putin’s proposal puts forward leaders from four major European countries threatening to put pressure on Moscow if Ukraine does not accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, as they proposed on Saturday in a solidarity show with Kiev.
Leaders from France, Britain, Germany and Poland said their proposal to start a ceasefire on Monday was supported by U.S. President Donald Trump, who briefed it over the phone earlier in the day.
Trump called on Ukraine and Russia to meet “very high-level negotiations”, saying they were “very close to the deal” to end the bloody three-year war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously said he was ready for peace talks, but only after the ceasefire.
Moscow’s proposal Putin said Russia has proposed several ceasefires in recent months – Ukraine agreed to a stop strike on the energy infrastructure, a unilateral 30-hour Easter truce, and a unilateral ceasefire from May 8 to 10 from May 8 to 10.
Ukrainian officials say Russia has repeatedly violated all of this.
Putin accused Ukraine of undermining “initiatives over and over” on Sunday and launched multiple attacks on Russia.
In March, the United States proposed a direct limited 30-day truce, which Ukraine accepted, but the Kremlin was already more satisfied.
Putin once again said on Sunday that the Kremlin needed a truce, which would lead to “lasting peace” rather than a peace that would re-establish Ukraine and mobilize more people to join its armed forces.
He said he would talk to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and asked him to negotiate peace on May 15.
Shortly after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Turkey held talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators aimed at ending hostilities. The proposed deal reportedly included provisions on Ukraine’s neutral status and restricted its armed forces while delaying negotiations on Russian occupation of the region.
Moscow accused Kyiv and the West of talks collapsed.
Putin said: “Those who really want peace can only support the proposal to restart peace negotiations.
Zelenskyy spoke with European leaders on Saturday to reporters, calling their meeting a “very important signal.”
In a joint statement released on Zelenskyy’s official website, five leaders called for a ceasefire from Monday to “last for at least 30 days” to make room for diplomatic efforts to end the war.
“A unconditional ceasefire cannot be subject to any conditions,” the statement said. “If Russia requires such conditions, it can only be regarded as an effort to extend the war and undermine diplomacy.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said the United States would lead monitoring of the proposed ceasefire with the support of European countries and threaten “massive sanctions between Europeans and Americans…prepared and coordinated” if Russia violates the truce.
Macron traveled to Kiev with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
“It is Europe’s step-up efforts and a demonstration of our solidarity with Ukraine,” Stamer said.
Trump’s special envoy to Trump Ukraine, retired lieutenant Keith Kellogg, said Saturday that the “full” 30-day ceasefire, covering attacks from the air, land, ocean and infrastructure, “will begin to end the process of the largest and longest war since World War II since Europe.”
Meanwhile, Putin had a series of bilateral dialogues with foreign officials participating in Moscow’s own celebrations on Saturday, marking the failure of Nazi Germany, an apparent attempt to highlight the West’s failure to isolate it on the global stage. Putin’s interlocutors include Vietnamese Communist Party Secretary-General Lin, leaders of Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso and Palestinian authorities.
If Russia ignores the ceasefire, Europe threatens more sanctions, as progress to ending the three-year war seems elusive in the months since Trump returned to the White House, and his previous claims about an upcoming breakthrough failed to come true. Trump had previously pushed Ukraine toward Russian territory to end the war and threatened to walk away when the deal became too difficult.
Russia has been attacking about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) of frontlines since the start of the U.S.-mediated talks, including a deadly strike in residential areas without obvious military targets.
The ceasefire will cease fighting on land, sea and air. If Putin fails to comply, European leaders threaten to strengthen sanctions, including Russia’s energy and banking sectors.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the top priority is to keep Russia fighting in Ukraine.
When asked how the monitoring mechanism works, Sybiha told the Associated Press that details are still being discussed.
Melz doubts whether the new sanctions in Moscow, which have been fighting in the war so far, said: “Even if our weekend initiative fails, almost all EU member states and large alliances around the world are willing to enforce these sanctions.”
The leaders also discussed Ukraine’s security assurances.
Building Kiev’s military capabilities will be a key deterrent against Russia and demand a strong number of weapons for Ukraine to stop future attacks and invest in its defense sector. Macron said troops composed of foreign forces could also be deployed as “reliance” measures.
He said details about the potential deployment of Europe to Ukraine are still being fine-tuned. There is no mention of NATO membership, which remains the top choice for Kiev security guarantees.
Earlier on Saturday, European leaders attended a ceremony at Kiev’s Independence Square, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. They lighted candles with Zelenskyy in a temporary flag memorial, and Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been killed since the Russian invasion.
Local officials said that over the past day, Russian attacks in northern Ukraine continued to kill three residents and injured four people. Another civilian died and Russian drones hit the southern city of Hessen, according to regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin.
On Friday, the U.S. Embassy in Kiev warned of “potential” Russian air strikes in the coming days without providing details.
In November, Russia issued a brief warning to the United States before its first attack on Ukraine with the Oreshnik intermediate ballistic missile, an experimental supersonic weapon that Putin claims can travel 10 times the speed of the sound.
The Ukrainian Telegraph Channel links the embassy’s warnings to reports of Moscow’s ban in Kapustin Yar military training and rocket launch complex. Similar flight bans before the November strike. Russian officials did not immediately comment.
Trump said last week that he suspected Putin wanted to end his war in Ukraine and expressed new suspicion that a peace deal could be reached as soon as possible and hints further sanctions against Russia.
Ukraine’s European allies believe its fate is the basis for security on the African continent, and pressure is increasingly looking for ways to support Kiev, regardless of whether Trump withdraws or not.
