French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot today called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Istanbul this Thursday, after the Russian president called for the start of direct talks between Kiev and Moscow in the Turkish capital, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
„This weekend in Kiev, we witnessed a show of strength and European unity with the unanimous call for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire with the support of the United States“, the French minister said during a visit to western France.
„Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky embraced this opportunity and offered to travel to Istanbul in person. "Now we call on Vladimir Putin to agree to this too," he added, as several European foreign ministers gathered in London to discuss the war in Ukraine.
The French minister reiterated that a ceasefire is a necessary precondition for any peace talks in Ukraine. "Obviously, there will only be talks for a just and lasting peace with a ceasefire, because we cannot negotiate calmly against the backdrop of falling bombs and drone attacks," he insisted.
Russia ignored an ultimatum from Kiev's allies and last night sent more than a hundred drones against Ukraine, which is still waiting for a response from the Kremlin to Volodymyr Zelensky's offer to meet Vladimir Putin face-to-face in Istanbul this Thursday, AFP reported.
Kiev and its European allies issued an ultimatum over the weekend for "full and unconditional" A 30-day ceasefire starting today, which they say is a precondition for starting direct peace talks in Turkey, as Putin is proposing. So far, Russia has not responded to Zelensky's offer to meet with Putin or to the ultimatum for a one-month ceasefire.