Hastily assembled in the corridor: British media on Putin's proposal that Turkey 'was not aware of'.

Putin's proposal for direct negotiations with Ukraine

According to the British publication Sky News, Vladimir Putin's proposal for direct negotiations with Ukraine has raised eyebrows due to its strange preparation and the proposed date. The Russian leader suggested meeting on May 15 in Istanbul, but Turkey found this initiative to be unknown, as Putin himself admitted that he plans to talk to Erdogan only the following day.

This proposal may be an attempt to avoid commitments concerning a 30-day ceasefire, as agreed by Ukraine, Europe, and the USA. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already announced an agreement with European partners and the USA for a complete unconditional ceasefire starting from May 12 for at least 30 days, which again was not mentioned by Putin.

Such actions by the Russian president have raised questions about the purpose of his proposal and his attitude towards Ukrainian partners, as well as generated hypotheses about a possible delaying tactic by Russia.