Donald Trump’s demand that Ukraine immediately begin peace talks with Russia has undermined European efforts to pressure Moscow through sanctions, according to diplomats cited by The Guardian.
This follows last week’s proposal by Ukraine and a coalition of willing nations for a 30-day ceasefire starting 12 May, announced during European leaders’ visit to Kyiv.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited Ukraine to peace talks in Istanbul beginning 15 May but notably did not agree to the proposed 30-day ceasefire. During a press conference, Putin claimed Russia is “ready for negotiations without any preconditions.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “had no choice but to accept Vladimir Putin’s invitation to talks in Istanbul on Thursday for fear of offending Trump,” The Guardian reported, citing diplomatic sources.
“The aim of the visit by Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz and Donald Tusk was to put pressure on Trump to admit that Putin was stalling, and that the US had no political option but to put swingeing economic sanctions on Russia,” according to the report.
The leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland traveled to Kyiv last weekend to call for a 30-day ceasefire. Their plan was disrupted when Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that Ukraine should “agree to meet Russia immediately.”
“At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible,” Trump said, adding: “If it is not, European leaders, and the US, will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!”
Putin extended the invitation for talks in Istanbul as a way “not to alienate the US president, and avoid the growing European pressure on Trump to impose harsher sanctions,” according to Western diplomats cited by The Guardian.
Diplomats “have no reason to believe that Trump acted in collusion with the Russian leader,” the report stated.
Trump has indicated he might attend the Istanbul meeting. “You may have a good result out of the Thursday meeting in Türkiye… I was thinking about flying over,” he said.
The Guardian reported that European officials may join the Istanbul talks to ensure Ukraine’s negotiating team is prepared for “potentially pivotal talks for which there has been comparatively little preparation.”
If the talks fail, European leaders hope to convince Trump that “Putin is not interested in a just peace, and only Ukrainian capitulation,” according to the report.
Read also:
- “The clock is ticking”: Germany threatens Russia with sanctions over failure to comply with ceasefire
- Zelenskyy urges full ceasefire before meeting Putin in Türkiye, while Putin demands no “preconditions”
- Budapest halts talks with Kyiv amid Hungarian spy scandal
