Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. This was reported by the Turkish Anadolu Agency, citing sources in the Turkish Foreign Ministry. It is learned that Fidan and Lavrov discussed the latest efforts to achieve peace between Russia and Ukraine. The call comes on the eve of a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian sides in Istanbul on Thursday for the first peace talks between the two countries in more than three years.
No 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine
Vladimir Putin has rejected the "unacceptable" ultimatum issued by Kiev on Saturday by the leaders of the Volunteers, backed by Donald Trump, for a month-long ceasefire under threat of tougher sanctions. "This is not the way to talk to Russia," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said curtly.
"The language of ultimatums is not acceptable to Russia, it is not appropriate, you cannot talk to Russia in this way," Peskov said later, referring to statements by the leaders of the Will Party, who had given Moscow until Monday evening to accept or reject the ceasefire.
The US president is nevertheless convinced that "a good result" could come from the first direct talks between Russians and Ukrainians since 2022, scheduled for May 15 in Istanbul, in which he does not rule out his participation, including a stop in Turkey during his trip to the Middle East: "I'm thinking about it," Trump explained before leaving for Saudi Arabia, confident that both Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky will be in Istanbul. But the only one to have confirmed his participation so far, challenging the Kremlin leader to join him, was the Ukrainian leader, who spoke with Pope Leo XIV for the first time, in a call described as "very warm and really meaningful."
Zelensky then invited him "to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine": "It would bring real hope to our people," the president stressed, having invited Pope Francis to Kiev several times.
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