US President Donald Trump's call for immediate peace talks thwarted Europe's plans to persuade the US to impose new sanctions on Russia, and forced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to accept Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's invitation to talks in Istanbul. This is according to The Guardian, citing European diplomats, reports UNN.
Donald Trump's statement on social media that Ukraine should immediately start peace talks with Russia has set back and possibly jeopardized Europe's carefully crafted plans to persuade the US to impose sanctions on Moscow for rejecting the US president's offer of a 30-day ceasefire
European officials note that Zelensky had no choice but to accept Vladimir Putin's invitation to talks in Istanbul on Thursday, fearing offending Trump.
Putin made the offer in order not to alienate the US President and avoid growing European pressure on Trump to impose tougher sanctions. Western diplomats say they have no reason to believe that Trump was acting in collusion with the Russian leader
The publication also notes that the purpose of the visit of Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz and Donald Tusk to Lviv last week was to put pressure on Trump to recognize that Putin is stalling for time and that the US has no other political choice but to impose economic sanctions on Russia.
It is likely that some European officials will also be in Istanbul to ensure that the Ukrainian negotiating team is ready for potentially key negotiations, for which relatively little preparation has been done. If it becomes clear that Putin is delaying a ceasefire, or the talks in Istanbul collapse, the goal will be to go back to Trump and urge him to recognize that Putin is not interested in a fair peace, but only in Ukraine's capitulation
Let us remind you
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on May 11 said that he expects a ceasefire from the Russian Federation from May 12, and that he will personally wait for Vladimir Putin in Turkey on May 15.
Later in the evening, Putin responded to the conditions. And although he did not accept the ceasefire proposal, he said he was ready to start direct talks with Ukraine on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump says he may travel to Istanbul, where a potential meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin may take place on Thursday.