Zelensky ‘Ready To Meet’ Putin After Russia’s Call For Istanbul Peace Talks Thursday

Is this the massive and key breakthrough the world has been waiting for? It started with President Putin’s Sunday proposal to hold talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday, May 15. Trump has called it “a potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine” and stressed he would “work with both sides to make sure it happens”. The White House has been busy unleashing frustration on both sides over lack of progress toward a negotiated settlement to the war which has likely taken hundreds of thousands of lives.

“We propose to start [negotiations] without delay on Thursday, May 15 in Istanbul,” Putin said Sunday, saying he would soon speak to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to ask for his help in facilitating the talks. The direct engagement is being framed as a return to short-lived talks which began within the opening months of the Russian invasion. “We propose to the Kyiv authorities to resume the talks that they broke off in 2022, and, I emphasize, without any preconditions,” Putin said.

And then within hours after, on Sunday Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky tried to raise the stakes higher, announcing that he will fly to Turkey where he’s ready to meet with Putin personally on Thursday. “I will be in Türkiye this Thursday, May 15, and I expect Putin to come to Türkiye as well,” he wrote on X, emphasizing he will be there “Personally”… “And I hope that this time, Putin won’t be looking for excuses as to why he ‘can’t’ make it. We are ready to talk, to end this war.” He then said again, “Thursday. Türkiye. President Trump has expressed support. All the leaders support this.”

Starting tomorrow, we await a ceasefire — this proposal is on the table. A full and unconditional ceasefire, one that lasts long enough to provide a necessary foundation for diplomacy, could significantly bring peace closer. Ukraine has long proposed this, our partners are… pic.twitter.com/TVpJbldfh4

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 11, 2025

“We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy. There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye…,” Zelensky also said, throwing down the gauntlet.

Just prior to the surprisingly bold overtures from both sides, President Trump had ratcheted up the pressure, expressing frustration aimed at both Moscow and Kiev, but especially putting the onus on Moscow – which happens to be winning the war, by most accounts.

“President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday in Turkey to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH,” Trump wrote earlier on his Truth Social platform.

He insisted that the leaders should meet regardless, even if both have no stomach for compromise. “At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!”

Essentially Trump to is throwing down the gauntlet – saying that the two should have the meeting now, or expose which side really wants to continue the war and the killing.

“I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War ll, which could not have been won (not even close!) without the United States of America,” Trump wrote Sunday. “HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!!” This has apparently nudged both sides, but it remains anything but clear whether Putin is himself ready to fly to Istanbul, especially given there are no clear, practical signs Kiev is ready to offer any significant compromise, or anything new will come of it.

Even though Zelensky now says he’s willing and ready to sit across the table from Putin – a first in over three years of war – is he ready to make territorial concessions?

It’s unlikely, given Moscow de facto already sees the four eastern oblasts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson as “forever” part of the Russian federation. Of course, Crimea might be the opening test case, as the Kremlin is also certainly not going to budge on control of the vital Black Sea peninsula either. And yet so far Zelensky hasn’t publicly budged from his position on Crimea.

But it would be interesting to at least see what comes of the proposed direct talks. Likely this will indeed be enough to at least see the two warring sides’ negotiating teams meet, if not the heads of state themselves.

Zelensky is meanwhile chalking it up as possibly a ‘win’ for his side, while Trump is also celebrating: “It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war,” Zelensky has asserted. ”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.”

Indeed, yet the entire world has also been waiting on him to make the compromises that would allow this to happen, which would include Moscow’s demand that his government stop persecuting Russian-speaking Ukrainians, as well as the Moscow-aligned Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Should Putin not personally go to Istanbul, Zelensky will simply use it as ‘told ya so’ leverage with Washington and his Western allies. Likely this is what this spectacle is really about.