Zelenskiy demands Putin’s presence at peace talks as Trump offers to mediate in Istanbul

KYIV/ISTANBUL – May 13, 2025: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will not attend peace negotiations unless Russian President Vladimir Putin is also present, a top aide to the Ukrainian leader said Tuesday, directly challenging Moscow to prove it is serious about ending the war.

The statement from presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak comes as Istanbul prepares to host high-stakes talks aimed at halting Europe’s most devastating conflict since World War II. U.S. President Donald Trump has offered to attend Thursday’s meeting, hoping to broker a breakthrough.

“President Zelenskiy will not meet with any other Russian representative in Istanbul, except Putin,” Podolyak told Reuters.

Trump, who is currently visiting the Middle East, said Monday he is considering flying to Turkey. “I was thinking about actually flying over there. There’s a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen, but we’ve got to get it done,” Trump said. “Don’t underestimate Thursday in Turkey.”

Putin has yet to confirm his attendance. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow remains committed to “a serious search for ways of a long-term peaceful settlement,” but declined to comment on the potential meeting.

Both Kyiv and Moscow have expressed openness to negotiations following renewed U.S. pressure. Trump has made ending the war a priority and has warned that he may withdraw diplomatic efforts if there are no clear signs of progress.

Ukraine’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak said Zelenskiy’s planned visit to Turkey shows Kyiv’s readiness for talks but stressed that negotiations must begin only after a ceasefire.

“Our position is very principled and very strong,” Yermak said during a visit to Copenhagen.

Ceasefire Conditions and Stalemates

The diplomatic push follows Putin’s recent proposal for direct talks, which came after Russia dismissed a Ukrainian call for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. Trump responded by urging Zelenskiy to accept the offer, though Kyiv has made clear that security guarantees and a ceasefire must come first.

Kyiv and its European allies have warned Russia to accept the ceasefire or face new sanctions. France said Monday that EU leaders had asked the European Commission to prepare a new package of “massive” sanctions targeting Russia’s energy and financial sectors.

Russia currently controls nearly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, most of Luhansk, and significant portions of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Moscow insists Ukraine must drop its NATO ambitions and has rejected major territorial concessions.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Monday to discuss preparations for the talks.

A First Meeting Since 2019?

If the Istanbul meeting proceeds, it would mark the first face-to-face meeting between Zelenskiy and Putin since December 2019. The leaders have shown deep animosity toward each other since the outbreak of full-scale war in February 2022, which has left hundreds of thousands dead and displaced millions.

Reuters previously reported that Putin was open to talks with Trump but maintained that any peace deal must not involve surrendering occupied territories.

A draft peace agreement discussed in 2022, but never finalized, proposed that Ukraine adopt permanent neutrality in exchange for international security guarantees from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Now, as the war drags into its fourth year, the Istanbul summit could offer a rare window for diplomacy—if both sides are willing to make concessions.

Russian lawmaker Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the Federation Council’s international affairs committee, said Tuesday that Moscow is prepared to go further than the 2022 draft deal if Ukraine comes to the table “without ultimatums.”

“If the Ukrainian delegation shows up with a mandate to look for common ground, I am sure that we could move forward,” Kosachev said in remarks to Izvestia.

For now, the world watches Istanbul, where decades of tension, destruction, and diplomacy may soon converge at one table—if Putin shows up.