MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed direct talks with Ukraine on May 15 in Istanbul.
Following are key quotes translated into English by Reuters.
“It was not Russia that broke off negotiations in 2022. It was Kyiv. Nevertheless, we are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions.”
“Despite everything, we offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already on Thursday, in Istanbul.”
“Let me remind you that as a result of these negotiations, a joint draft document was prepared, and it was initialed by the head of the Kyiv negotiating group, but at the insistence of the West, it was thrown into the trash.”
“Our proposal, as they say, is on the table, the decision is now up to the Ukrainian authorities and their curators, who are guided, it seems, by their personal political ambitions, and not by the interests of their peoples.”
“We are committed to serious negotiations with Ukraine. Their purpose is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict, to establish a long-term, lasting peace for the historical perspective.”
“We do not rule out that during these negotiations it will be possible to agree on some new truces, a new ceasefire, and a real truce, which would be observed not only by Russia, but also by the Ukrainian side, would be the first step, I repeat, to a long-term sustainable peace, and not a prologue to the continuation of the armed conflict.”
“I repeat, Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions. There are military actions, a war, now, and we propose to resume the negotiations that were interrupted not by us.
2What’s wrong with that? Those who really want peace cannot but support this.”
“Russia has repeatedly made ceasefire initiatives.”
“Kyiv authorities have not responded to any of our ceasefire proposals.”
“During the three days of the declared ceasefire, Kyiv has made 5 attempts to attack the Russian border.”
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
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