Volodymyr Zelensky has said it was a “positive sign” that Russia was considering ending the war in Ukraine, after Russia offered “direct talks” this coming Thursday.
His comments come after Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Ukraine to take part in “serious negotiations” in a late-night address.
But the Ukrainian president said: “We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire – complete, lasting and credible – starting tomorrow, 12 May, and Ukraine is ready to meet.”
Western powers called for a 30-day pause in fighting to begin on Monday, after European leaders spearheading the so-called “coalition of the willing” met in Kyiv on Saturday.
A key aide to Zelensky said there must be a ceasefire before direct talks over ending the war – which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – could take place.
“First a ceasefire for 30 days, then everything else,” Andriy Yermak said. “Russia must not camouflage its desire to continue the war with verbal contortions.”
But Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova insisted talks should occur before a ceasefire.
“Putin was clear: first negotiations about the root causes [of the conflict], then talk of ceasefire,” she said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had earlier responded to the call from European allies and the US, saying Moscow would “have to think this through” – but warned that “trying to pressure us is quite useless”.
Putin said in his own statement that he could “not rule out” the possibility that the talks could result in Russia and Ukraine agreeing “a new truce” – but did not address the calls for a 30-day ceasefire directly.
The Russian leader said the proposed talks should be held in the Turkish city of Istanbul, as they have been before, and that he would speak to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday to discuss the details.
Zelensky wrote in a social media post yesterday morning: “It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war.
“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.
“There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day.”