A top Ukrainian official is urging the United States to unleash a new wave of economic reprisals on Moscow if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t show up to proposed peace talks in Turkey this week.
“If Putin will not come to Turkey, it’s necessary immediately to start real, new packages of the sanctions, new pressure,” Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in an interview with the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, which POLITICO is part of. “Russia understands only the languages of strength, and anybody who thinks that it’s possible to find a compromise, Russia always uses to play games.”
The Significance of Putin’s Attendance
Yermak’s comments offer the clearest sign yet of Ukraine working overtime to convince President Donald Trump that Russia, not Ukraine, is the major roadblock to a peace deal.
Zelenskyy has offered to hold direct talks with Putin in Turkey on Thursday, and Trump has openly mused about going to Turkey to attend the meeting if both the Russian and Ukrainian leader attend. Yermak said the Ukrainians don’t yet have confirmation that Trump will be coming. The Kremlin has so far declined to comment on whether Putin will attend.
Yermak said that a Putin no-show in Turkey would undermine Russia’s claim it is serious about peace talks. “If he will not come, he doesn’t want to end this war and is not ready for any negotiations,” Yermak said.
Ukraine’s Negotiating Position
Yermak also outlined Ukraine’s negotiating position going into the talks on Thursday, reiterating Ukraine’s insistence on an “unconditional ceasefire” before negotiations on a long-term peace talk can begin. “It’s impossible to talk and discuss anything when you’re under attack, and when you are under attack of drones and rockets,” he said.
Zelenskyy has struggled to balance ties with the United States, its major military backer alongside other NATO countries, since Trump took office and his administration began negotiating directly with Russia on peace talks to end its three yearlong war against Ukraine.
Following a disastrous meeting in February in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance openly clashed with Zelenskyy, Ukraine has pushed to convince the new administration that Moscow, not Kyiv, is stonewalling Trump on his long-sought effort to secure a peace deal early into his administration. Russia yesterday hammered Ukraine with a salvo of over 100 killer drones. Ukraine recently signed a deal signing away rights to its deposits of rare earth mineral resources to U.S. development following months of negotiations to help repair the relationship.
The Path to Ceasefire
The proposed talks in Turkey come after the leaders of Germany, France and the U.K. called for a 30-day ceasefire to kickstart negotiations. Ukraine has asked the European Commission to draft up a major new European sanctions package on Russia that would target its energy and financial sectors if Moscow continued to stall on ceasefire and peace talks, France said Monday.
Russia, however, has shot down the prospects of a temporary ceasefire.
“Putin was clear: first negotiations about the root causes [of the conflict], then talk of ceasefire,” Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
It is crucial for Putin to attend these talks to demonstrate Russia’s commitment to peace and avoid further escalation of tensions in the region.
