President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that on May 15, in Ankara, he will be in Ankara for meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and is ready, if necessary, fly from Ankara to Istanbul to meet with the head of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin for the ceasefire.
At a press conference in Kyiv, Zelensky noted that he would arrive in Turkey on May 15 with the current Ukrainian delegation. However, other formats, except for direct negotiations at the level of leaders, were not discussed, he emphasized.
“If Putin does not come to the meeting, but again there will be a game, it will be the final point that will show: they are not ready for the end of the war,” the head of the Ukrainian state said.
As for the visit of US President Donald Trump to Turkey, Zelensky said that there was no confirmation that Trump would come.
The Ukrainian leader also noted that he expects strong sanctions from the EU that affect the Russian economy.
“The only result of negotiations with Putin who will suit Kyiv may be a ceasefire,” said the president.
-ting the conflict settlement in Ukraine
Since the beginning of the conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine in 2022, the parties made several attempts to settlement.
The first three rounds of negotiations took place in Belarus – February 28 in Gomel, and March 3 and 7 in Brest, but it was not possible to agree on key issues.
March 10, 2022, a meeting of the heads of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Ukraine took place on the fields of diphorum in Antalya, but it did not bring progress.
The meeting was more significant on March 29 in the Istanbul Palace Dolmabakhche, where the Ukrainian delegation presented the Russian side with a draft possible agreement and a list of guarantor countries. However, on May 17, Ukraine officially suspended negotiations, and on October 4, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decision on the NSDB on the impossibility of conducting a dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Despite the diplomatic impasse, on July 22, 2022 in Istanbul, with the mediation of the UN and Turkey, an agreement was reached on the Black Sea Grain initiative.
March 18, after a telephone conversation between US President Donald Trump and President of the Russian Federation Putin, the Russian side supported the idea of mutual rejection of attacks on energy infrastructure, the next day the President of Zelensky agreed on similar measures.
On the night of May 11, 2025, President Putin made a statement in which he proposed to hold direct negotiations without preliminary conditions with Ukraine in Istanbul.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his readiness to organize a meeting.
Trump supported the Russian colleague’s proposal to resume direct negotiations with Ukraine, and Zelensky confirmed the participation in the negotiations appointed on May 15 in Istanbul.