NEW YORK, May 13. /TASS/. European leaders have decided to wait until after the talks on Ukraine that are scheduled for May 15 in Istanbul before pushing the US to impose fresh sanctions on Russia, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
US officials made it clear to their European counterparts on May 12 that they wanted to allow an opportunity for Russian and Ukraine to hold the talks before discussing stepping up pressure on Moscow, according to the report.
European leaders will urge US President Donald Trump to introduce restrictions if Russian President Vladimir Putin declines the meeting with Vladimir Zelensky or Russia doesn’t agree to an "immediate and unconditional ceasefire, the news service said. The US, however, has not yet made a decision on sanctions against Russia, according to the report.
The US Department of State didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg.
Speaking to reporters in the Kremlin early on May 11, Putin invited Ukraine to resume without any preliminary conditions the direct talks they broke off in 2022. He proposed to start the talks on May 15 in Istanbul.
Zelensky said Ukraine was expecting a ceasefire to commence on May 12 and he was ready to engage in talks with Russia in Turkey on May 15. He made the statement after Trump urged Ukraine to immediately agree to the proposed negotiations.
On May 10, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Premier Donald Tusk visited Kiev where, during talks with the Ukrainian side, they proposed a 30-day ceasefire. Macron threatened more sanctions unless Russia accepted the proposal.