The European Union expects that the Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin will be ready to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday 15 May, and is also prepared to impose additional sanctions on Russia if a ceasefire is not achieved.

Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv he will be in Ankara on Thursday to conduct the negotiations. He plans to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the two will wait for Putin to arrive, he said. Zelenskyy said if Putin chooses Istanbul to hold the meeting, then both leaders will travel there.

During possible negotiations in Istanbul, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to talk only with the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, according to the head of the President’s Office, Mykhailo Podolyak.