Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that he is ready to meet with Putin in Turkey if he arrives in Istanbul. Kyiv’s main demand is a ceasefire as the first step towards ending the war.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy made this statement on May 13, on the eve of his visit to Turkey, according to Suspilne.
The Ukrainian leader said he was flying to Ankara, where he would meet with Turkish President Recep Erdogan. If Russian dictator Putin decides to come to Istanbul, Zelenskyy and Erdogan will go to meet him.
“We discussed with President Erdogan that I will have a meeting with him in the Turkish capital. That is Ankara. It will be on Thursday, May 15. We will wait for the meeting with Putin in Turkey. So that Russia does not manipulate cities and say that Putin is not ready to fly to Ankara, but is only ready to fly to Istanbul. I want to say right away that if Putin flies to Istanbul, President Erdogan and I will fly there,” he said.
The only result of possible negotiations with Putin could be a ceasefire, which would be the first step toward ending the war. Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine does not need any other outcome.
“I don’t want to say right now what will suit us. We will get there. That is still ahead of us. This is primarily a question of justice and the overall view of this war: how and why it will all end. And so I would not go that far or that deep. Although I have a complete understanding of this process. And that is why I believe that we must demonstrate some kind of result,” the president said.
If Putin does not come, or if the ceasefire is not supported by him personally, according to Zelenskyy, this will mean that Russia is not ready for any negotiations.
The president expressed hope that if Russia rejects the ceasefire proposal, European partners will impose new sanctions against Moscow at the next meeting of the Council of Europe, which will affect the Russian energy and banking sectors. In addition, he is counting on similar measures from the US.
According to Zelenskyy, the 30-day ceasefire proposed to Russia is a “step towards de-escalation,” as neither side will be able to fully restore its forces during this period.
“No one knows in advance what will happen. I believe that this period will not be enough for anyone to fully restore their forces. That is, a 30-day ceasefire is more about de-escalation, about the possibility of opening a dialogue. That is what this is about,” he said.
Zelenskyy called statements that the NSDC’s decision, adopted in the fall of 2022 and put into effect, makes negotiations with Putin impossible “Russian narratives.” He assured that these statements are unfounded, explaining that the Ukrainian Security Council made this decision due to pressure from representatives of former MPs Viktor Medvedchuk and Vadym Novynskyi, who, acting in Putin’s interests, tried to convince him to “surrender Ukraine.”
“All this is true, there are witnesses and recordings – they represented Putin’s interests, speaking directly to me on the phone at the most difficult moment, when we were completely blockaded. They talked about how to surrender Ukraine and its territories. How and where I should flee, otherwise I would lose my family, etc. So it’s a long, long story,” the head of state said.
He also recalled that, according to Article 106 of the Constitution, the President of Ukraine has “exclusive constitutional powers to represent the state in international relations, conduct foreign policy, negotiate and conclude international treaties”.