Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is prepared to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, shortly after US President Donald Trump urged him to "immediately" accept the Russian leader's offer to hold peace talks in Turkey, CNN reported.
After meeting in Kyiv on Saturday, Ukraine's major European allies gave Russia an ultimatum: agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine by Monday or face "massive" new sanctions.
Trump supported the initiative, Germany's new chancellor Friedrich Merz said.
In a late-night address, Putin did not acknowledge the ultimatum. Ignoring the ceasefire offer, he instead proposed holding "direct talks" with Ukraine in Turkey on Thursday - something not seen since the early weeks of Moscow's full-scale invasion in 2022, as per CNN.
Ukraine's allies spent Sunday stressing that there could be no further talks before Putin agrees to an unconditional ceasefire. But Trump undermined the efforts to put pressure on Putin, saying that Ukraine should "immediately" agree to meet with Russian officials on Thursday, CNN reported.
"HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Within an hour, Zelenskyy said he was prepared to meet with Putin this week, in what would be the leaders' first meeting since Russia launched its war, CNN reported.
"I will be waiting for Putin in Turkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses," Zelenskyy said on Sunday on X.
Although Zelenskyy said a "full and lasting ceasefire" from Monday would provide "the necessary basis for diplomacy," he did not specify that this would be a precondition for attending the talks.
Whereas Putin on Saturday faced a joint call from Europe and the US to accept a ceasefire by Monday's deadline, his counteroffer of "direct" talks had by Sunday relieved much of the pressure on Moscow and shifted the focus to the potential talks this week.
European leaders have not yet said whether they will press ahead with the threatened additional sanctions on Russia if a ceasefire is not in place by Monday.
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