Mysterious statement from Kiev: Putin had better come to Istanbul because Trump promised us more than he can imagine

If Russian President Vladimir Putin does not come to Turkey for talks, it will be time to discuss even tougher sanctions against Russia. The new sanctions should be “really tough“. This was stated by the head of the presidential administration Andriy Yermak in an interview with Le Monde.

"His absence will be a signal to all our partners, first of all to the United States, that we must increase the pressure on Russia in every way, primarily through a new package of sanctions prepared by Lindsey Graham and other US senators. These sanctions should be really tough. I can say that they will be aimed at the energy and financial sectors. We know that the Russian economy is not able to resist them well. The US sanctions will probably be coordinated with a new round of sanctions by the European Union, Great Britain, Canada and other countries,” Ermak said.

The head of the presidential administration also stressed that Ukraine has a condition for negotiations in any format - a ceasefire for 30 days. He explained why this truce is so necessary.

"Every war at some point ends with some kind of ceasefire and negotiations. This war has been going on for more than three years. It was President Trump who initiated a full and unconditional one-month ceasefire, which our delegation immediately accepted in Jeddah on March 11 in Saudi Arabia. In a military sense, the time of such a ceasefire is not enough to change the course of events on the front, contrary to what Russian propaganda claims. On the other hand, one month is enough to appoint delegations, start negotiations and agree on a mechanism for monitoring and controlling the ceasefire. It is necessary to discuss this mechanism, because the front line is very long,“ he explained.

Yermak also noted that the United States could take on this mission. So far, Washington has not agreed to this, but there is no categorical “no“. The United States is the only country that has the technological means for this.

The head of the OP answered whether Kiev was worried that the US arms supply would end in June. He noted that “The United States realizes and recognizes that in any negotiations Ukraine must be strong in relation to Russia“, since the weakness of Ukraine would mean weakness for all partners that support it, especially for Washington.

“I can only tell you what I heard from President Trump once. He said: “If Putin refuses to conclude a peace agreement, I will give Ukraine more than they can imagine.“ "I really like that sentence", Ermak noted.

Negotiations in Istanbul

Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia are scheduled for May 15 in Istanbul. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed his participation in them, emphasizing that the meeting will only make sense if Putin attends it.

At the same time, the Kremlin has not yet confirmed Putin's participation in the negotiations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has discussed the possibility of holding talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, but the details remain unknown.

US President Donald Trump has expressed his readiness to join the negotiations if this would contribute to achieving peace. Zelensky also expressed earlier hope that the American leader will be able to attend the meeting.