EU awaits Putin's readiness to meet Zelenskyy on 15 May and threatens Russia with sanctions

The European Union expects Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to 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.

Source: Paula Pinho, chief spokesperson for the European Commission, at a briefing in Brussels on 13 May, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Pinho said that the EU has not abandoned the idea of imposing further sanctions on Russia if it refuses to agree to a ceasefire, and also confirmed that the EU expects Putin to be ready to meet Zelenskyy this week.

"We look forward to seeing President Putin's readiness to meet President Zelenskyy on Thursday," the spokesperson said. [N.B. Ukrainska Pravda does not recognise Putin as president – ed.]

Pinho added that Putin had "probably been surprised by the readiness of President Zelenskyy to meet in person".

She also stressed that the EU has not given up plans to impose additional sanctions against Russia if it does not decide to implement a ceasefire.

Quote: "We can confirm that in the absence of a ceasefire, as has been indicated by several leaders, by [European Commission] Vice President Kallas and President von der Leyen herself, we are indeed looking into further sanctions."

Background:

• In a nighttime statement on 11 May, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin did not mention the 30-day ceasefire but said he was ready for "direct talks" with Kyiv in Istanbul on Thursday 15 May.
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan confirmed that he was ready to host negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
• Zelenskyy stated that he was ready to speak personally with Putin in Istanbul on Thursday.
• US President Donald Trump said he had not ruled out visiting Türkiye on 15 May.
• Bloomberg reported that European leaders are prepared to wait until after the possible meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin in Türkiye before putting pressure on the United States to announce new sanctions.

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