Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a phone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on May 12 to discuss a proposed meeting in Turkey between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian state-media outlet TASS reported.
The phone call comes as Moscow once again rejected a 30-day ceasefire, with Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova claiming that a ceasefire would give "Kyiv a break to restore its military potential and continue its confrontation with Russia."
Russia, who unilaterally launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, rejected U.S.-backed calls for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. Putin instead invited Ukraine to engage in direct talks in Istanbul later this week.
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.
To coordinate the meeting, Zelensky also held a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier in the day on May 12.
"We are ready for direct negotiations with Putin. And it is very important that all of us in Europe are working together for long-term security guarantees," Zelensky said following the phone call.
No details were immediately released on the phone call between the Russian and Turkish Foreign Ministers.
Despite offering the meeting, Putin has yet to formally confirm his attendance on May 15.
"Moscow has remained silent all day regarding the proposal for a direct meeting. A very strange silence," Zelensky said in his evening address on May 12.
Russia is facing mounting pressure from Western allies to agree to a ceasefire and begin top-level direct negotiations.
Following a meeting in Kyiv, the leaders of the U.K., Germany, France, and Poland threatened to implement additional sanctions if it did not agree to a ceasefire by May 12. Upping pressure on Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he believed "both leaders are going to be there," adding "I even thought about flying over — I'm not sure where I'll be on Thursday."
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
