Zelensky offers to meet Putin in Turkiye

KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to meet Vladimir Putin in Turkiye on Thursday after US President Donald Trump told him publicly to immediately accept the Kremlin leader's proposal of direct talks.

Zelensky's suggestion of a meeting with Putin capped a dramatic 48 hours in which European leaders joined Zelensky in demanding a 30-day ceasefire from Monday, only for Putin to make a counterproposal to instead hold the first direct Ukraine-Russia talks since the early months of the 2022 conflict.

"I will be waiting for Putin in Turkiye on Thursday. Personally," Zelensky wrote on X.

The Kremlin said on Monday that it was focused on "serious" ways to achieve long-term peace with Ukraine, but did not comment on Zelensky's invitation for a personal meeting with Putin.

The Russian president, in a nighttime televised statement on Saturday that coincided with prime time in the US, proposed direct talks in Istanbul on Thursday.

Putin's suggestion came hours after major European powers demanded on Saturday in Kyiv that he agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire or face "massive" new sanctions, a position that Trump's Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg endorsed.

Zelensky, too, had said Ukraine was ready for talks, if Moscow agreed to the 30-day ceasefire.

Yet, Trump, who has the power to continue or sever Washington's crucial supply of arms to Ukraine, took a different line.

"President Putin of Russia doesn't want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkiye, to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath. Ukraine should agree to this, immediately," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Speaking in his nightly address, Zelensky said that Ukrainian forces would respond in kind if Russian troops did not observe a truce.

Germany's government said on Monday that European countries will start preparing new sanctions on Russia unless the Kremlin, by the end of Monday, starts abiding by a 30-day ceasefire.

"The language of ultimatums is unacceptable for Russia, it is not suitable. You can't use such language with Russia," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about the German and other European warnings.

In response to the willingness shown lately by Russia and Ukraine for peace talks, the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday expressed the hope that the parties concerned will carry on dialogue and negotiations to reach a peace agreement.

"On the issue of the Ukraine crisis, China's position has been consistently clear, and we support all efforts dedicated to peace," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular news conference in Beijing.

Lin said Beijing has always believed that "dialogue and negotiation is the only viable way out of the Ukraine crisis".

"China is ready to act in accordance with the aspirations of the parties concerned, work together with the international community, and continue to play a constructive role for the final resolution of the crisis and the realization of a lasting peace."

Zhang Yunbi in Beijing contributed to this story.

Agencies via Xinhua