ISTANBUL

Ukraine is ready to hold direct talks with Russia once Moscow confirms a “full, lasting and reliable” ceasefire in his country starting on Monday, the Ukrainian president said on Sunday.

“There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire – full, lasting, and reliable – starting tomorrow, May 12th," Zelenskyy said on X on Sunday, adding: "And Ukraine is ready to meet."

“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,” he said.

Later on Telegram, Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's Presidential Office, clarified that a 30-day ceasefire must first be established for "everything else."

"Russia should not disguise its desire to continue the war under verbal constructions," Yermak said, arguing that a ceasefire is the first step towards ending the conflict, and that Moscow's confirmation of this will affirm its readiness to do so.

In response to Zelenskyy's remarks, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: "(Russian President Vladimir) Putin clearly said: first, negotiations on the root causes (of the conflict), and then we can talk about a truce," Zakharova said.

During an overnight news conference in Moscow, Putin proposed the resumption of direct peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul starting on Thursday.

In a phone call with Putin on Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country is ready to host the negotiations, according to Türkiye's Communications Directorate.

On Saturday, Zelenskyy and European leaders, in a joint statement following talks in Kyiv, urged Russia to agree to a "full and unconditional" 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, a call which the statement said is also supported by the US, and warned that "stronger sanctions" should be imposed on Moscow if it did not agree.

Türkiye has played an active role in efforts to reach a settlement in the Russia-Ukraine war, which began in February 2022, including hosting a series of talks in Istanbul that March aimed at finding common ground to end the conflict, now in its fourth year.