May 13, 2025 4 min read

Zelenskyy to wait for Putin in Turkey, saying: ‘If he does not arrive, he does not want to end war’ – Europe live

By Guardian-Jakub Krupa-Tue 13 May 2025 14.58 BST

Ukrainian president to meet Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday and wait to see if Putin joins them.

Zelenskyy to fly to Turkey to meet Erdogan, wait for Putin

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that he would fly to Turkey on Thursday to meet the country’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and wait to see if Russian president Vladimir Putin decides to join them for peace talks.

He explained that because “absolutely everything in Russia” depends on Putin, the only way to secure a ceasefire and an end to the war was through direct talks with him, Reuters reported.

“If Putin does not arrive and plays games, it is the final point that he does not want to end the war,” he said, AP reported.

Nevertheless, Zelenskyy insisted he would still do “everything to ensure this meeting takes place,” AFP reported.

Zelenskyy said that if the talks failed, he would expect “strong sanctions” from the United States and European Union as it would show that Russia was not ready for diplomacy.

Leaders' visit to Kyiv should not be underestimated, Merz says as he strongly backs Ukraine

Merz’s press conference with Greece’s Mitsotakis has just finished and the new German chancellor clearly wanted to send a very clear signal of intent when it comes to Ukraine.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attend a joint press conference in Berlin, Germany. Photograph: Lisi Niesner/Reuters

He said that after the four leaders’ visit to Kyiv on Saturday, they spent all day consulting with other heads of states and governments, including the US, on next steps.

Merz pointedly praised Zelenskyy’s determination to progress the talks and his “courage” to offer that he could attend this Thursday’s meeting in Turkey in person, “despite extremely difficult circumstances.”

“It shows the seriousness and willingness to compromise, that he is prepared to do everything possible to seize the opportunity for a ceasefire and subsequent peace talks on Ukraine,” he said.

But he said that calling for further concessions is just “no longer acceptable,” as the entire situation is “pushing the boundaries of what the entire country can be expected to endure.”

“The headline is: this war must stop. And that’s why we are helping,” he said.

He also stressed that, if necessary, Germany “will support Ukraine military for many years to come.”

“None of us is prepared to accept that military force will change the borders in Europe. If we allow this to happen, we will see further military aggression against other European countries,” he warned.

In a further pointed warning, he added that the leaders’ visit over the weekend “should be understood as a clear sign of our determination and should not be underestimated.”

Germany's Merz says Russia could face further sanctions if Ukraine talks stall

German chancellor Friedrich Merz said the EU would impose tighter sanctions on Russia if there is no progress made in ceasefire talks by the end of the week.

Speaking at a press conference with Greek leader Mitsotakis (13:22), Merz repeated the warning – first expressed on Monday - in an clear bid to put further pressure on Russia to move.

“We will be looking at other areas, such as the energy sector and also the financial market,” he said.

China, Brazil back direct Ukraine-Russia talks

The leaders of China and Brazil, members with Russia of the BRICS grouping of big emerging economies, said in a joint statement they hoped direct dialogue could begin as soon as possible and that they welcomed Putin’s proposal to open negotiations, Reuters reported.

Putin skipping Turkey talks would be 'final signal' of Moscow intent, Zelenskyy's top aide says

“If Vladimir Putin refuses to come to Turkey, it will be the final signal that Russia does not want to end this war, that Russia is not willing and not ready for any negotiations,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said in a statement reported by AFP.

Kremlin says no comment on Turkey talks

Let me take you back to Ukraine for a moment as the Kremlin has just declined to comment when asked about Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call for Vladimir Putin to attend peace talks in Istanbul on Thursday.

“The Russian side continues to prepare for the talks scheduled for Thursday. That is all we can say at this point. We do not intend to comment further at this time,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters as quoted by AFP.