Turkey urges Moscow, Kyiv to meet on ceasefire 'as soon as possible'
Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday urged Russia and Ukraine to come together "as soon as possible" to start a ceasefire agreement ahead of planned talks in Istanbul this week.
"We invite the parties to come together as soon as possible and start the ceasefire," he told a joint press conference in Ankara with his Syrian and Jordanian counterparts
"Right now there is an issue that needs to be reconciled: the Ukrainians want a ceasefire first, then talks, and the Russians want talks first then a ceasefire, so the situation has come to a deadlock," he said, expressing confidence that the parties would "come together for a compromise in the coming days".
At the weekend, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Poland urged Russia to accept a 30-day unconditional ceasefire starting Monday as a precondition for direct talks.
But Russia did not respond, with President Vladimir Putin instead proposing the sides meet for direct talks in Istanbul on May 15, in a move that won the approval of US President Donald Trump.
Late Sunday, Zelensky said he would be willing "personally" meet Putin in Turkey but did not say whether he would still attend if the Russian leader rejected the 30-day ceasefire.
The two sides had held direct talks in Istanbul in the first weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2024, but failed to agree on how to halt the fighting, which has been raging ever since.
Source: Agence France Presse
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