Türkiye on Friday proposed to host a meeting between the American, Russian and Ukrainian leaders in an effort to push toward a peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv.
NATO member Türkiye, which has striven to maintain relations with both Kyiv and Moscow, has become a key mediator amid U.S. President Donald Trump's push for a deal to end the over three-year war.
"We sincerely think that it is possible to cap the first and second direct Istanbul talks with a meeting between Mr. (Donald) Trump, Mr. (Vladimir) Putin and Mr. (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy, under the direction of Mr. (Recep Tayyip Erdoğan)," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a joint news conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, in Kyiv.
"We can either close our eyes to the continuation of this war, or reach a durable peace before the end of the year," Fidan said. "Expectations for a cease-fire and peace have increased."
"Progress can certainly be made as long as we remain at the negotiating table," added Fidan, who was to meet with Zelenskyy in Kyiv later in the day.
"We proved that (Russia-Ukraine) talks (in Istanbul) can yield concrete results," said Fidan, expressing Ankara's desire to maintain the momentum achieved in Istanbul. Russia proposed to hold the second round of direct negotiations in Istanbul on June 2.
Earlier this week, Fidan held talks with Putin and other senior officials in Moscow.
The Kremlin pushed back against the idea of a face-to-face meeting involving Putin and Zelenskyy.
"President Putin has repeatedly stated that he is fundamentally in favor of high-level contacts," spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, adding: "But first, results must be achieved through direct negotiations between the two countries."
The Kremlin also said it was sending its delegation to Istanbul and that it will be "ready" for a second round of talks with Kyiv on Monday, though Kyiv has yet to confirm if it will attend.
Ukraine first wants Russia to share its vision of a road map to peace, a so-called "memorandum" that Moscow said it will only hand over to the Ukrainian delegation in person at the next talks.
Ukraine has for more than two months been calling for Russia to agree to a full, unconditional and immediate 30-day cease-fire, an idea first proposed by Trump.
Putin has repeatedly rejected those calls, despite pressure from Washington and Europe, while the Russian army has intensified its advances in eastern Ukraine.
He has said that a cease-fire is possible as a result of negotiations, but that talks should focus on the "root causes" of the war.
Moscow typically uses that language to refer to a mix of sweeping demands that have at times included limiting Ukraine's military, banning it from joining NATO, massive territorial concessions and the toppling of Zelenskyy.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Kyiv is willing to continue peace talks with Russia in Istanbul, but stressed that Moscow must submit its memorandum with cease-fire proposals in advance, as previously agreed.
"We want to end the war this year and are ready to discuss a cease-fire – whether for 30, 50 or 100 days," Sybiha said at the press conference with Fidan.
He stressed Kyiv wants Moscow's memorandum for the next meeting to be productive.
Sybiha emphasized that Ukraine accepted a U.S.-led initiative for a cease-fire and now expects a clear and unconditional response from Moscow.
"The ball is in Russia's court. They must say 'yes' to a cease-fire if they are serious about just, comprehensive and sustainable peace," he said.
The Ukrainian top diplomat noted that Russia had also promised the document to the American side and must fulfill this commitment for the June 2 Istanbul meeting to be "substantive and objective."
He also reaffirmed on X that Ukraine is ready to enter a durable cease-fire and pursue diplomacy, urging Russia to accept an unconditional halt to hostilities.
"Ukraine is ready to cease-fire for a durable period of time in order to stop the killing and make diplomacy effective. Russia must agree to a full and unconditional cease-fire as well," Sybiha said, thanking Türkiye for its role in facilitating peace efforts.
He emphasized that without Russia's genuine commitment to peace, international pressure must increase. "As long as Moscow continues to reject cease-fire and meaningful peace efforts, the international pressure on it must continue to mount," he added.
Kyiv and the West have rejected those calls and cast Russia's assault as nothing but an imperial-style land grab.
Russia's invasion in February 2022 triggered the biggest European conflict since World War II.
Tens of thousands have been killed, swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine destroyed, and millions forced to flee their homes.
Trump has been growing increasingly frustrated at both Zelensky and Putin for not having struck a deal yet.
At a U.N. Security Council meeting Thursday, a U.S. diplomat reaffirmed that Washington could pull back from peace efforts.
"If Russia makes the wrong decision to continue this catastrophic war, the United States will have to consider stepping back from our negotiation efforts to end this conflict," John Kelley told the meeting, which included Russian and Ukrainian envoys.
Despite the sides having held their first peace talks in more than three years, there has been little sign of movement toward a possible compromise agreement.
At negotiations in Istanbul on May 16, Ukraine said Russia threatened to accelerate its ground offensive into new regions and made a host of hardline demands, including that Kyiv cede territory still under its control.
Kyiv wants to first agree to halt the fighting to allow for discussions on a long-term settlement.
Along with its European allies, Ukraine has also been ramping up pressure on Trump to hit Moscow with fresh sanctions, a step he has so far not taken.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that if Russia gives "confirmation that it is not ready to make peace," Washington must then confirm its "commitment" to impose sanctions on Moscow, stressing it was a "credibility test for the Americans."
"I spoke 48 hours ago to President Trump, who showed his impatience. The question now is, what do we do? We (Europeans) are ready," Macron said during a visit to Singapore.
On the battlefield, both sides launched dozens of drones at each other in the latest overnight barrage, and Russia has this week claimed to have captured a string of Ukrainian settlements.
