Zelensky vs. Putin: High-stakes Turkey showdown looms
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he will be waiting for Vladimir Putin in Turkey on May 15. The independent portal Meduza is analyzing the situation regarding the meeting.
Volodymyr Zelensky declared that he will arrive in Turkey to meet with Vladimir Putin for direct negotiations on May 15. Donald Trump also suggested that he might appear, but only if Putin is present.
Zelensky emphasized that he is ready to come to any city in Turkey if Putin decides not to travel to Ankara. Everything now relies on the decision of the Russian president.
This situation is dangerous not only for Ukraine but also for all of Europe, emphasizes the independent Russian portal Meduza.
If Putin does not come to Istanbul, ministerial-level talks are likely to end in failure. However, if Putin decides to travel, it will be a warning signal for Ukraine and Europe.
The risk is that Zelensky will have limited room for maneuver if Putin and Trump arrive with an agreement that Trump will require him to sign.
The journalists at Meduza highlight that if the Kremlin plans to insist once again on its maximalist demands—seen by Kyiv as tantamount to surrender—then the rationale for initiating another round of negotiations becomes highly questionable.
At the turn of March and April, after a stalemate in talks in Riyadh and an intensification of Russian bombings of Ukrainian cities, Trump threatened the Kremlin with severe measures but soon sent his chief negotiator, Steve Witkoff, to Russia. However, there were no results at that time.
European ultimatum on war
On May 10, four European leaders - Macron, Starmer, Merz, and Tusk - unexpectedly arrived in Kyiv, issuing an ultimatum to Russia, demanding an immediate 30-day ceasefire.
Two days earlier, Trump published a post in which the USA called for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire, threatening additional sanctions in case of non-compliance.
There are two possible scenarios for peace negotiations. The first assumes that the parties, with third-party mediation, agree on the terms of ending hostilities and then sign a ceasefire agreement. The second scenario assumes a ceasefire as the first step, after which the parties conduct negotiations in "silence" conditions.
Amid the Kyiv ultimatum of Zelensky and the four European leaders, Putin reacted on the night of May 11, proposing direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul. The European leaders emphasized that the negotiations only make sense in case of a ceasefire.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced on Tuesday that Russia will declare who will attend the planned peace talks in Turkey "when Vladimir Putin deems it appropriate".
