Russia proposes peace talks with Ukraine next week after Trump threats
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Putin adviser and lead Ukraine negotiator Vladimir Medinsky (C). Photo: Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/Anadolu via Getty
Russia proposed to Ukraine that the countries hold a second round of peace talks on Monday in Istanbul in order to exchange written proposals for a ceasefire and ending the war, Ukrainian and Russian officials said Thursday.
Why it matters: Ukrainian officials see the Russian proposal as a way to placate President Trump, who has been growing increasingly frustrated with President Vladimir Putin and even said Tuesday that the Russian president was "playing with fire."
The latest: Within hours of the proposal from Putin adviser Vladimir Medinsky, who heads the Russian negotiating team, the Ukrainian side provided Moscow with a document laying out how Ukraine sees the path to a ceasefire, negotiations, confidence-building measures and a leader-level meeting.
- "We gave the Russians our doc which shows all the steps to a ceasefire and how to prepare the meeting of the leaders and we're asking them to give us their doc," a Ukrainian official told Axios.
- Ukrainian Defense Minister Rusten Umerov said Ukraine is not opposed to holding further meetings but wants to see a corresponding document from the Russian side first.
- However, the document does not include Ukraine's terms for a deal to end the war.
Driving the news: Medinsky proposed the Istanbul meeting and exchange of peace proposals after a call Wednesday with Umerov.
- "We are ready to begin a substantive discussion of each of the points of the package agreement on the future ceasefire," Medinsky told reporters in Moscow.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky and his team held consultations Wednesday about whether to accept the Russian proposal, a Ukrainian source told Axios — adding that perhaps the Russians could just send their "peace memo" by email.
The intrigue: Trump has threatened sanctions or tariffs if Putin continues to bombard Ukrainian cities and reject his ceasefire push, but has refrained from taking any action despite urging from the Ukrainians and European allies.
- Trump said Wednesday that was because he still feels he's close to getting a ceasefire deal and "I don't want to screw it up by doing that." He added: "I am a lot tougher than others ... but you have to know when to use that."
- "We are gonna find out soon if [Putin] is tapping us along or not, and if he is we will respond a little bit differently," Trump told reporters at the White House.
- Trump also said he was "very disappointed" by the attacks Putin was carrying out during the negotiating process. "I don't like rockets fired into cities and I am not going to allow it," Trump said.
Driving the news: The first round of direct Russia-Ukraine peace talks took place in Istanbul two weeks ago but showed no clear progress.
- Last week, Putin told Trump in a phone call that Russia would present within days a "peace memo" laying out its terms for a ceasefire and ending the war — something White House officials saw as a win, because Putin has spoken only in generalities up to now about his terms for peace.
- Russia has yet to provide such a memo, and has sparked Trump's ire in the meantime by intensely bombarding Ukrainian cities and rejecting Trump's idea of peace talks in the Vatican.
- Trump said his envoy Steve Witkoff is dealing with Putin "very strongly right now" to see if he wants a deal.
This story was updated with the Ukrainian response to Russia's proposal.
