Is This Really A Turning Point In The Ukraine War – Or Another Kremlin Ploy?

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks to journalists in the Grand Palace at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, May 11, 2025.Vladimir Putin has offered to start peace talks with Ukraine after renewed pressure from Kyiv’s western allies.Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed his words but made it clear he would only negotiate if a ceasefire were implemented first – the Russian president has refused to agree to any lengthy truce so far.So could this be the beginning of the end of the Putin’s bloody war in Ukraine, or is this – as some fear – just another manipulation tactic from the Kremlin?Here’s what we know.What has Putin said? Putin has proposed direct talks with Ukraine on May 15 in Turkey.“We are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions,” Putin said overnight on Sunday. “We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already on Thursday, in Istanbul.”Even though he started the conflict by invading Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian president said the talks should focus on the “root causes” of the war.The Kremlin has repeatedly claimed Russia was “provoked” into the conflict, pointing to Nato’s expansion since the fall of the Berlin Wall, although to Ukraine and its allies, it was an imperialistic land grab.Putin then made a dig at the West, saying: “The decision is now up to the Ukrainian authorities and their curators, who are guided, it seems, by their personal political ambitions, and not by the interests of their peoples.”While Putin insisted Russia no longer needs preconditions for any such talks, the Kremlin has already said Western arms going to Ukraine would need to stop during any ceasefire, otherwise “it will be an advantage” for Kyiv.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed: “Ukraine will use this period to train new military personnel and to give a rest to their existing ones. So why should we grant such an advantage to Ukraine?”What’s changed? It comes after European leaders – including Keir Starmer – met in Ukraine over the weekend and threatened to impose “massive” new sanctions on Russia if Putin did not agree to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire this Monday.From left, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz make a call to U.S. President Donald Trump from Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, May 10, 2025. Although Putin dismissed these “boorish” demands as “ultimatums”, he may have felt forced to show he was willing for the conflict to end – especially as his relations with Donald Trump are starting to strain.Putin has been dragging his heels, offering very few concessions, despite Trump’s push for a quick resolution to the war.Russia’s previous attempts at ceasefires have been short-lived.A promise to stop attacking energy infrastructure, a brief Easter ceasefire in April and a three-day pause this week during the 80th anniversary of World War 2 have all failed.Ukraine called the latest attempted truce a “farce” and manipulation from Moscow.Despite these failures, the White House appeared to be willing for the conflict to end on Putin’s terms and considered handed over occupied Ukrainian land to Russia in the name of peace.Yet Putin still played for time – and Trump has in recent weeks expressed more frustration with the Russian president, having been incredibly sympathetic.After the US president accused Putin of “tapping me along”, the Kremlin spokesperson told reporters that this was not the case.“President Putin is doing whatever is possible to solve the problem, to achieve a settlement through peaceful and diplomatic means. But having no peaceful and diplomatic means at hand, we have to continue the military operation,” he said.But does he actually want peace?What does Russia want?It’s likely Putin will want to retain as much Ukraine as possible – he currently holds a fifth of the country – and will try to neutralise it by removing its military.Last June, the president said Ukraine should drop its Nato ambitions and called for it to pull all of its troops out of occupied areas to end the war.Russian officials have also suggested the US recognise Russia’s control over parts of Ukraine and called for Ukraine to stay neutral, although that does not mean it could not join EU.Putin has mentioned the 2022 draft deal which was negotiated after Putin’s initial invasion.It sees Ukraine agree to permanent neutrality in exchange for international security guarantees from the UK, China, France, Russia and the US (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council).Putin claims it was not Russia who broke off those negotiations but Ukraine “at the insistence of the West”.Does anyone think Moscow is being serious?Trump welcomed the change in tune from the Kremlin.He wrote on Truth Social: “A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine! Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending ‘bloodbath’ hopefully coms to an end.”Zelenskyy also appeared to welcome the news – but he reminded Putin he only wanted to commit to talks if a ceasefire were in place.He said on X: “It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war. The entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time.”But he added: “And the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire. There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day.“We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire – full, lasting, and reliable – starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet.”Ukraine’s allies also seemed more wary than Trump.Starmer said on Saturday, “if he [Putin] is serious about peace, then he has a chance to show it”.UK home secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky News: “We need a serious response from Russia, they started this illegal invasion of Ukraine and everyone wants to see peace in Ukraine, and now we’ve had the huge international pressure calling for ceasefire, we do need to see a serious response from the Russia regime.“That so far has been lacking, I hope that they will now take that seriously.”“It’s a first step but it’s not enough. An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations,” French president Emmanuel Macron told reporters.However, as author of Putin’s War on Ukraine Samuel Ramani told Times Radio: “That’s exactly the trap that the Russians are trying to set for Zelenskyy. By not going ahead with the ceasefire, but then making an offer of talks, [they are] setting up a situation where Zelenskyy rejects it.”“That's exactly the trap that the Russians are trying to set for Zelensky. By not going ahead with the ceasefire, but then making an offer of talks, [they are] setting up a situation where Zelensky rejects it.”Putin is offering peace talks without a ceasefire to make Zelensky… pic.twitter.com/ozDD6U018J— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) May 11, 2025Related...Putin's Ambassador Hits Back At UK's Latest Sanctions With 3 Dismissive WordsUkraine Has Found A Way To Disrupt 1 Of The Most Important Days In Putin's CalendarTrump Says 1 Recent Change Could Push Putin To Finally Agree To Ukraine Peace Deal

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