Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a statement to the media at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia May 11, 2025. Sergey Bobylev/Host agency RIA Novosti/Handout via REUTERSRussian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed direct talks with Ukraine on May 15 in Istanbul that he said should be aimed at bringing a durable peace and eliminating the root causes of the war. "We are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions," Putin said from the Kremlin in the early hours of Sunday. Putin specifically mentioned the 2022 draft deal which Russia and Ukraine negotiated shortly after the Russian invasion of February 2022. It was Kyiv," Putin said.
