Russia shows no willingness to end war in Ukraine — Zelenskyy

He said this at a press conference in Turkey.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia does not show readiness for dialogue about ending the war and does not intend to make relevant decisions.

"If there is no such demonstration, it means there is no readiness to talk about ending the war and making decisions. And it means there is a lack of political will, and it means that Russia does not feel that it needs to end this war, and it means there is a lack of political, economic, and other pressures on the Russian Federation," he said.

According to the President, in the absence of agreements on a ceasefire and serious steps from Russia, it is necessary to increase international pressure to accelerate the onset of peace or at least hold bilateral meetings.

"We want a strong package of sanctions that the United States of America and European countries have been talking about a lot recently, in recent weeks... Russia is demonstrating that it does not want to end the war," Zelenskyy stated.

Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Istanbul

In a nighttime address on May 11, Russian leader Vladimir Putin claimed he was ready for direct talks with Ukraine in Turkey next week, but he dismissed the idea of a 30-day truce. In response, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would keep working with both sides and predicted that the coming week would be “great.”

On May 12, the German government announced that if Russia did not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine by the end of the day, European partners would begin preparations for new sanctions. In contrast, the Kremlin stated that “the language of ultimatums is unacceptable for Russia.”

Advisor to the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would not meet with any Russian representative other than Vladimir Putin in Turkey on May 15. Later, Zelenskyy himself confirmed his personal visit to Turkey for a meeting with Putin.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the talks in Istanbul with Kyiv should recognize the "realities on the ground," including Russia’s incorporation of Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that if his meeting with the Russian leader takes place on May 15 in Turkey, the main topics of discussion will be a complete ceasefire and a full exchange of prisoners of war.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin will not be present during the talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Turkey on May 15.