Moscow, 11 May 2025 (dpa/MIA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin early on Sunday offered to resume direct talks between Moscow and Kiev without any preconditions.

Speaking to journalists in Moscow, Putin said that the talks would take place in Istanbul as early as Thursday.

"Those who really want peace cannot be against [the proposal]," Putin said, speaking shortly after a three-day ceasefire in the Ukraine war that he had declared unilaterally expired at midnight (2100 GMT Saturday).

In his comments, Putin did not directly address a request by Ukraine and its Western partners for a 30-day ceasefire without preconditions.

Putin said he would be speaking with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday, adding that he hoped the Turkish leader would contribute to a peaceful solution to the conflict with Ukraine.

The Turkish President had previously described his country as an ideal location for possible peace negotiations. There was initially no reaction from Kiev overnight to Putin's counterproposal.

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his four most important European allies had issued an ultimatum to Russia, demanding that it implement a 30-day ceasefire without preconditions starting on Monday, or face new sanctions.

The proposal came during a high-level joint visit to Kiev by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

The leaders held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump, a conversation Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called "fruitful."

Putin meanwhile again accused the Ukrainian side of sabotaging Moscow's attempts at securing a ceasefire. He also did not completely rule out extending the three-day ceasefire which he had declared unilaterally and which had expired at midnight.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to Russian state news agency TASS that the three-day ceasefire was no longer in effect. "Of course it's over," Peskov said. Peskov claimed that there had been numerous violations of the agreements by the other side and that there was therefore "no serious ceasefire," he added.

Each side has accused the other of carrying out attacks even after the unilaterally declared ceasefire began on Thursday. Zelensky accused Putin of only pretending to observe the ceasefire of the past few days in order to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

"The attacks on the front line continue," Zelensky said on Saturday. "And Russian assaults are ongoing. They haven't stopped using aerial bombs against our front line positions and border communities."

The Russian Ministry of Defence also listed daily violations of the ceasefire by Kiev. According to the ministry, there were several Ukrainian attempts to break through the border into the Russian regions of Kursk and Belgorod. The Russian army was only responding to Ukrainian attacks, it said.

The information provided by the warring parties cannot be independently verified at this time.

Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia for over three years.

The US had called for a 30-day ceasefire to allow peace negotiations to take place. Russia, however, set conditions, including a halt to Western arms deliveries to Ukraine. Moscow said that Ukraine must not be allowed to gain any advantage from a ceasefire to reorganize its military forces.

MIA file photo