How did Zelensky respond to Putin's proposal for direct negotiations?

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky announced that he is ready to take an important step towards achieving a full and long-term peace with Russia. He noted on his Telegram channel that he hopes the Russian side will agree to a complete, reliable, and long-term ceasefire starting from May 12.

“It is a good sign that the Russians are finally starting to think about stopping the war. The international community has been eagerly waiting for this for a long time. The first important step towards truly ending the war is to completely stop the firing,” Zelensky said in his statement.

Andrey Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president's office, also confirmed their readiness to implement the ceasefire for an initial period of 30 days and emphasized that this process would continue with peace negotiations: “Initially, a 30-day truce, and then all issues for peace will be discussed,” Yermak said.

It should be noted that neither Zelensky nor Yermak specifically addressed the direct negotiations proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in their statements.

Earlier, on May 10, a meeting took place in Kyiv with French President Emmanuel Macron and leaders of European Union countries. As a result of this meeting, Kyiv officials officially announced their readiness to completely and unconditionally halt all military operations on land, air, and sea for at least 30 days starting from May 12. U.S. President Donald Trump also supported this initiative.

However, Russia has not yet provided a clear response. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Moscow is considering the proposal for a 30-day ceasefire and emphasized that efforts to exert international pressure on Russia are ineffective.

Subsequently, on the night of May 11, Vladimir Putin held a special press conference, proposing to resume direct negotiations in Istanbul on May 15. However, in this statement, Putin did not provide a clear response to the initiative for a 30-day ceasefire put forward by Ukraine and European countries.

Analysts believe that if these negotiations take place, it could be an important step towards peacefully resolving the long-standing military conflict between the two countries. The international community is awaiting new initiatives for peace from Moscow and Kyiv.

The Zamin.uz editorial team will continue to monitor the situation and regularly provide updates on the peace process to its readers.