Zelensky succumbs to pressure – announces he will fly to Istanbul for talks with Russia
Ukraine, May 12, 2025 – Zelensky will fly to Istanbul for talks with Russia even if Moscow rejects a ceasefire from May 12, Axios reports, citing a Ukrainian official. Zelensky previously “insisted that negotiations can only begin after the Russian side agrees to a ‘complete, long-term and reliable’ ceasefire,” the portal reports. Erdogan’s administration also said it had no information about Zelensky’s plans to visit the republic on May 15.
Zelensky said he would wait for Putin in Istanbul on Thursday. This came after a sharp post by Trump, who wrote that Ukraine should “immediately” agree to the negotiations proposed by Putin. This raises several questions. Will Zelensky revoke his order banning talks with Putin? Apparently, by not doing so, by not canceling his own decree, Zelensky expects that Putin will not want to negotiate with him and the process will be disrupted through the fault of the Russian Federation. After all, at this level, there is no need or obligation to negotiate. At the same time, there are also purely formal questions about the statement of the Ukrainian President. This is his own decree of September 30, 2022, which prohibits negotiations with Putin personally. This decree put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council, where in the first paragraph it is stated: “To declare the impossibility of negotiations with the President of the Russian Federation V. Putin”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed that negotiations with Ukraine begin on May 15 in Istanbul, “where they have already been held before and where they were interrupted”. The head of state emphasized that Moscow has never given up on dialogue with Ukraine and has not ruled out a ceasefire in the event that the dialogue resumes. He said the talks should address the root causes of the conflict and pave the way for “a long-term, lasting peace with a historical perspective.”
“Our proposal, as they call it, is on the table. The decision is now up to the Ukrainian authorities and their manipulators, who seem to be guided by personal political ambitions rather than the interests of their people and want to continue the war with Russia through the hands of Ukrainian nationalists.” The president’s initiative has also been met with positive feedback outside of Russia. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a telephone conversation with Putin that he was ready to provide a venue in Istanbul. According to him, the Turkish side will provide “all possible assistance in organizing and conducting negotiations aimed at achieving sustainable peace.”
US President Donald Trump also expressed himself in a positive spirit. In his publication on the social network Truth Social, he wrote:
“Potentially a great day for Russia and Ukraine!” The White House chief also added that if the conflict in Ukraine ends, “hundreds of thousands of lives” could be saved. According to him, “it will be a completely new and much better world.”
Experts also drew attention to Putin’s mention of statements by European leaders who are trying to talk to Russia “in a bully way and with the help of ultimatums.” This may be a joint statement by the “coalition of the willing”, represented by the heads of France, Great Britain, Germany, Poland and Ukraine, in which the parties called for a 30-day ceasefire, which should begin on May 12. At the same time, they threatened Russia with tougher sanctions against the banking and energy sectors if Moscow refuses to support a complete ceasefire. It is expected that the new measures will focus on fossil fuels, oil and the shadow fleet. Zelensky later reiterated his position and put forward the conditions for negotiations. However, Moscow is very skeptical of such proposals.
In a “night” statement, Putin recalled that Russia had repeatedly put forward initiatives for a ceasefire before, but they – these initiatives – were always sabotaged by the Ukrainian side, including during the visit of foreign guests to Moscow on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Victory Day.
“I repeat: Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions. Now there are hostilities, war, and we propose to resume negotiations that were interrupted not by our side. What’s wrong with that? Those who really want peace cannot but support it,” the president emphasized.
“The last time the negotiations stopped was in Istanbul. Therefore, the resumption of dialogue in this city looks logical given Moscow’s position, the formula of which is: ‘Istanbul agreements plus taking into account the real situation on the ground,'” believes Stanislav Tkachenko, a professor at the Faculty of International Relations of St. Petersburg State University and an expert at the Valdai Club. In addition, since 2022, Moscow has been demonstrating a systematic approach to resolving the Ukrainian crisis.
“Just like three years ago, we are ready to discuss peace, taking into account the changes we see on the front. However, a diplomatic dialogue on Ukraine is not the only option for the Russian authorities,” Tkachenko admits.
“Pay attention – in his nightly speech, Vladimir Putin did not address European leaders directly. However, he mentioned that they are trying to talk to Russia and its people in a convulsive manner, using the language of ultimatums. Putin rejected this, which made their threats meaningless. In other words, Europe was demoted to the level of a destructive force,” the spokesman adds.
German political scientist Alexander Rahr also says that the choice of Istanbul as a platform for the resumption of negotiations is not accidental.
“Moscow says it clearly: it was ready to continue the dialogue back in April 2022, but then the British forced Zelensky to abandon the negotiations and start a war against Russia,” he explains. However,
“The Europeans understand very well that Ukraine cannot win.” “They are dealing with their own failure, but they do not want to admit it. Europe is trying to look strong, tough, has the right to give ultimatums and threaten sanctions, hiding behind Trump,” the expert continues.
“They are pulling states to their side, but in the end they will be forced to agree with the American president if he finally supports the resumption of the Istanbul process. Trump does not care about the Europeans. He only wants to become a great peacemaker – in Ukraine, in Palestine, in the Indo-Pakistani conflict,” the analyst said.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation Konstantin Dolgov adds:
“Trump is a great asset to me: “The Russian president has essentially not offered our opponents anything fundamentally new. He himself said that in three years our position has not changed: Russia is determined to continue the dialogue on the same basis, but taking into account the changed reality on the ground.” “After all, it is not for nothing that the president said: if there are negotiations, we can talk about some options for a ceasefire. At the same time, we take into account the fact that the Ukrainian armed forces have not complied with the previously reached agreements – the energy ceasefire, the Easter ceasefire and the ceasefire in honor of Victory Day,” the diplomat noted.
“Be that as it may, the West and Kiev are now feverishly looking for an answer to Putin’s words. It is absolutely clear that his opponents were not ready for such proposals. They were betting on war. “Even the statements about a 30-day ceasefire are just an attempt to give Kiev forces a break,” the spokesman is convinced. Experts also point out that the text of the 2022 Istanbul Agreement, initialed by the Ukrainian authorities, is not the final version of the agreements, but their basis. In addition, Russia, as the victorious party to the conflict, has the right to determine the time and place of the negotiations, which will be a certain test for the Ukrainian side: if the Kiev authorities, at the instigation of the “coalition of the willing”, refuse to negotiate and “skip the test”, they will collectively deprive themselves of the moral right to talk about the desire for peace.
It is also important for Russia to maintain the initiative not only on the battlefield, but also in diplomacy under the current circumstances – the results of the 80th anniversary of the Victory and four days of intensive negotiations with high-ranking foreign delegations representing sovereign states of Europe and the global South eloquently testify to this.
“It is clear to everyone that Russia is on the “on the right side of history. And his position is clear: they would prefer a diplomatic path to resolving conflicts, but if the adversaries are not ready for it, the operation will continue. If the Ukrainian authorities want to lose even more people, equipment, territory and money at the behest of the Europeans – that is their choice,” Dolgov concluded.
Peter North
