Breaking: Putin Proposes Direct Ukraine Talks on May 15

Putin's statement in response to a new European proposal that explicitly keeps the US out of negotiation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has just proposed direct peace negotiations with Ukraine to begin on May 15 in Istanbul. This announcement comes just days after European leaders at the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) summit successfully urged President Trump to support their approach to Ukraine, and stay out of the talks.

According to Putin's May 11 statement, Russia is proposing "direct talks with Ukraine on May 15 in Istanbul that he said should be aimed at achieving a durable peace and eliminating the root causes of the war."

The significant diplomatic breakthrough emerged from European leaders at the JEF summit who collectively urged Trump to support a 30-day unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine. Trump was also urged to stay out of the negotiation, during a 15-20 minute call initiated by Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

Critically, European leaders presented three key demands:

• Keep the United States out of a peace process between Ukraine and Russia

• Ensure an unconditional 30-day ceasefire

• Apply tougher sanctions on Russia if it rejects the ceasefire

Trump reportedly agreed to all three points and soon after issued a public statement calling for the 30-day ceasefire and warning of further sanctions if Russia did not comply. This marked a notable shift from Trump's previously inconsistent messaging on Ukraine.

Putin's proposal appears to be a direct response to this coordinated Western pressure. In his statement, Putin indicated he plans to speak with Turkish President Erdogan about hosting the talks, “We are committed to serious negotiations with Ukraine."

Significantly, Putin also mentioned the possibility of a new ceasefire: "We do

not rule out that over the course of these negotiations it will be possible to agree on some new ceasefire, a real ceasefire that would be observed not only by Russia but by the Ukrainian side as well."

This is the most substantial diplomatic development in the conflict in months. The European powers, with Trump's backing, threatened Putin with "massive" new sanctions if he did not accept the ceasefire within days.

The UK has already announced concrete actions, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer revealing plans to blacklist nearly 100 oil tankers from Russia's "shadow fleet" - ships used to sell gas and oil in violation of Western sanctions. These ships have reportedly transported goods worth more than $24 billion since early 2024, financing "large parts of Russia's warfare in Ukraine."

Previous efforts to end the war seemed lopsided with Americans attempting to negotiate but appearing too aligned with Putin. The new European proposal represents a significant diplomatic shift with European leaders taking a more direct role in Ukraine peace efforts and successfully influencing both Trump and, potentially, Putin toward a negotiated solution.