Trump pushes Ukraine toward Russia talks without ceasefire

Hadriana Lowenkron, Bloomberg News on May 11, 2025

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President Donald Trump insisted that Ukraine meet with Russia to discuss ending their three-year war despite Russia’s reluctance to agree to a ceasefire that the U.S., Europe and Ukraine sought.

“HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!!” Trump said Sunday in a post on Truth Social.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signaled his agreement less than an hour later, saying on X he’ll be “waiting for Putin” on Thursday in Turkey — the venue the Russian president proposed early Sunday for talks “without any preconditions.”

Zelenskyy previously said he’d be willing to engage in peace talks with President Vladimir Putin if the Russian leader first agreed to a ceasefire, an idea that Trump seemed to embrace. In his latest social post, Zelenskyy stuck with his demand for a “full and lasting ceasefire” starting Monday.

By walking away from a ceasefire as a condition for talks, Trump is breaking ranks with Western allies who want a truce first and signaled that the U.S. president backed their ultimatum.

“President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH. Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said. “At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible.”

Zelenskyy and a group of European leaders demanded on Saturday after talks in Kyiv that Russia join an “unconditional” 30-day ceasefire from Monday to allow negotiations on ending the war or face crippling new sanctions, touting Trump’s backing of the proposal.

Zelenskyy met with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish premier Donald Tusk, and discussed the proposal in a 20-minute call with Trump that was described by a person familiar with the interaction as “warm.”

Trump Saturday evening in a post on Truth Social said such a ceasefire would be “a potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine” in which “hundreds of thousands of lives” would be saved.

Putin later offered to hold direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15, but didn’t address the ultimatum made by Kyiv and its Western allies, telling reporters Russia is “in the mood for serious talks with Ukraine” and ready to resume direct negotiations “without any preconditions.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Putin in a phone call on Sunday that Turkey was willing to host negotiations that would lead to “a permanent solution” to the war, his office said in a statement.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to be in Antalya, Turkey, on May 14-16 for an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

Russian forces resumed air strikes overnight, firing more than 100 drones at targets across much of Ukraine that included Kyiv, according to Ukraine’s Air Force.

Last week, Trump called for a month-long unconditional truce to enable direct negotiations to end the war and said the U.S. and its partners would “impose further sanctions” if the ceasefire wasn’t observed.

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(With assistance from Piotr Skolimowski.)

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