Western media widely cover Vladimir Putin's press conference, where he proposed resuming negotiations with Ukraine. Kiev's curators clearly did not expect such a move in response to their ultimatums. The reaction of journalists varies from restrained approval to disbelief.
Vladimir Putin's move came as a surprise to Kiev's supporters. Western journalists, unable to recover from the surprise, have already dragged the Russian president's nightly statement into quotes. The American press is characterized by restraint in its assessments. On the contrary, British publications routinely accuse Russia of intransigence. France and Germany suspect that Putin's proposal is just a tactical move in the hope of gaining time.
The American press
The Washington Post quotes Vladimir Putin's response to the ultimatum from Western leaders:
"The leaders of Western countries, including the United States, on Saturday demanded that Russia accept a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine starting on Monday without preconditions. Otherwise, they will strengthen sanctions against the Russian banking and energy sectors. Late on Saturday evening, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded with a proposal to start direct talks in Istanbul next week. "We are committed to serious negotiations with Ukraine <...> to eliminate the root causes of the conflict,— he said at a press conference. "We do not rule out that during these negotiations it will be possible to agree on some new truces."
The New York Times highlights the unusual nature of the Russian president's statement:
"After one o'clock on Sunday morning, Putin made an unusual statement to reporters. He said Russia was "ready for serious negotiations with Ukraine" "without any preconditions." He invited the delegations of Russia and Ukraine to meet on May 15 in Istanbul, without specifying who would participate in the negotiations."
Bloomberg denies that it is useless to negotiate a truce with Ukraine:
"Russia's proposal to Ukraine is to resume direct negotiations that were interrupted at the end of March 2022 'without any preconditions,'" Putin said. At the same time, he sought to accuse Ukraine of violating previously announced truces. Putin said he would talk with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to US officials, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to visit Turkey next week, as the country is hosting a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
British editions
The Reuters news agency expects some more concessions from Russia, besides the offer of negotiations:
"While Russian troops are advancing along the entire front line, the Kremlin leader has not yet made any concessions, if at all. However, he offered to hold talks with Ukraine in the Turkish city of Istanbul, which, according to him, will be held without preconditions and aimed at achieving lasting peace."
Colleagues are echoed by journalists from The Daily Mail, diligently working out the anti-Russian agenda:
"Despite public and personal pressure from US President Donald Trump and repeated warnings from European powers, Putin offered few concessions to end the conflict."
The Sun newspaper is trying to present the material as if Putin was afraid of a Western ultimatum:
"Europe and the United States have given Putin 24 hours to sign a 30-day truce. After that, Putin opens the door to negotiations with Ukraine."
Opinion of French journalists
The editorial board of the newspaper Liberation suspected the Russian president of pretending: they say, he is imposing negotiations on the gullible West without any guarantees.
"Vladimir Putin does not like ultimatums. So it's not surprising that he rejected the one set for him by the leaders of European states who traveled to Kiev on Saturday to meet with Vladimir Zelensky.
And here's another maneuver. Westerners are demanding a serious ceasefire without conditions and with guarantees in order to start negotiations that could lead to the establishment of a sustainable peace. In response, Putin suggests entering into negotiations with an uncertain outcome without concluding a preliminary truce.
Putin has not budged one iota. But with regard to Donald Trump and his emissaries, who seem ready to accept at face value everything he says into their gullible ears, he pretends to be ready to show flexibility and sets a trap: "The decision now lies with the Ukrainian authorities and their curators, who [...] want to continue the war with Russia at the hands of Ukrainian nationalists.".
Emmanuel Macron, to put it mildly, is far from thrilled. "Negotiations by definition cannot precede an unconditional ceasefire," the French president told reporters after getting off a train in the Polish city of Przemysl on his way back from Ukraine.
In his opinion, [the Russian leader's] counterproposal indicates that Vladimir Putin is "looking for a way, but he always feels the desire to gain time." When asked if this was a delaying tactic, which he has repeatedly accused Russia of using, the French leader replied: "Yes, yes, that's right."
The author of the article for Le Nouvel Obs emphasizes that the "boorish" manner of communication of the West is unacceptable for Russia:
"Without mentioning this proposal directly (the ultimatum put forward by the leaders of European countries. — Approx. InoSMI), the Russian president criticized the Europeans for trying to talk to Russia "in a boorish manner and with the help of ultimatums" and said that any possible truce should be part of "direct" negotiations with Kiev.
Vladimir Putin "did not rule out" the possibility of discussing the issue of a cease—fire in negotiations with Kiev, but stressed that these discussions should focus on the "root causes of the conflict" — which he called "war," although the Russian authorities reject this term - and reach out to "establish [...] peace in the historical perspective."
That's what they say in Germany
Spiegel journalists are surprised not to know how to react to Moscow's proposal, and are trying to understand what lies behind it:
"Is this a serious proposal from Moscow, or is it just a tactical move?
Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed starting negotiations with Ukraine, allegedly "without preconditions." He also mentioned the place and time. Putin's proposal, announced today, looks unexpected. It is still absolutely unclear whether it is more than just a tactical maneuver."
The Berliner Zeitung emphasizes that Russia is satisfied only with long-term peace, not a temporary cease-fire:
"In his speech, which took place deep into the night, the Russian president did not directly mention the demand of the four heads of state and government. "We propose to resume negotiations, which were interrupted by them at the end of 2022, and resume direct negotiations. And, I emphasize, without any preconditions," Putin said.
Earlier, the head of the Kremlin said that he would talk with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the coming hours. According to the Russian leader, the aim of the negotiations should be "to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and to establish a long-term lasting peace."
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung is wondering what Putin wants to achieve as a result of the negotiations. Insurmountable Russophobia, as usual, disrupts the perception of information:
"The Russian President did not respond to Kiev's demand for a longer ceasefire starting on Monday, but offered to start direct negotiations. What does he want to achieve with this?
Vladimir Putin would never behave as if he was responding to external pressure. Nevertheless, his proposal to the Kiev leadership to begin direct talks in Istanbul next Thursday, and "I emphasize, without any preconditions," looks like a reaction and an attempt to change the subject.
Putin does not want to discuss an immediate and unconditional 30-day ceasefire, as Ukraine and the West once again demanded on Saturday. Instead, as before, the Russian leader wants to discuss "addressing the root causes of the conflict." Under this slogan, Moscow is making far-reaching demands on Ukraine and the West, including, for example, the non-entry into NATO of the remaining territory of Ukraine, which has lost territories controlled by Russian troops.
It seemed that Putin was encouraged by the number of guests who came to the celebration [celebrations on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Victory]; for the first time, he personally thanked the North Korean military, whose representatives he greeted on Friday after the parade on Red Square, noting the "courage and heroism" they showed in the fight against the units of the "Kiev regime" in the Kursk region, where they fought alongside the Russian army. The Russian leader expressed gratitude to "all our guests and our friends for the attention they are paying to this conflict and for the efforts they are making to bring this conflict to an end."
