Europe awaits potential Zelensky-Putin meeting before pushing for new US sanctions on Russia, Bloomberg reports

Ukraine's European partners are planning to wait for a possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey before pushing the U.S. to impose new sanctions on Russia, Bloomberg reported on May 12, citing undisclosed sources.

Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, rejected U.S.-backed calls for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. The Kremlin instead invited Ukraine to engage in direct talks in Istanbul.

Zelensky responded by accepting the invitation, saying he was ready to meet Putin in Turkey on May 15 — a decision that various experts told the Kyiv Independent may have caught Putin off-guard.

U.S. and European officials held talks on May 12, during which Washington made it clear that it wanted to allow talks between Russia and Ukraine before increasing pressure on Putin, the sources told Bloomberg.

If Putin refuses to meet with Zelensky or Russia does not agree to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire on May 15, European leaders will call on U.S. President Donald Trump to follow through on his threat to impose sanctions on Moscow, the sources added.

The Kremlin has not said whether Putin will attend the meeting.

Trump has reportedly grown frustrated with the slow progress in peace negotiations, saying on April 26 that Putin may be "tapping me along," and that the Russian leader may not be interested in ending the war.

The U.S. president also threatened on May 8 to join partners in imposing "further sanctions" if Russia does not agree to an unconditional ceasefire.

Kurt Volker, a former U.S. special representative for Ukraine, said on May 9 that he believes Putin is not interested in a peace deal, but may agree to a ceasefire later in the fall if Ukraine's allies succeed in imposing tougher sanctions on Russian gas, oil, and financial transactions.

‘Not what Putin was expecting’ — What we know (and don’t know) about Ukraine, Russia peace talks in Istanbul

Russian President Vladimir Putin may have gotten more than he bargained for when, on May 11, he rejected calls for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire and invited Ukraine to engage in direct talks in Istanbul later this week. In what may have been a surprise for the Russian leader, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded by accepting the invitation, saying he was ready to meet Putin in Turkey on May 15. “This is not what Putin was expecting,” Oleksandr Merezhko, a Ukrainian lawmaker and

The Kyiv IndependentChris York,