BUDAPEST, May 14. /TASS/. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto expressed hope for the success of the upcoming talks on resolving the Ukrainian conflict, scheduled to take place on May 15 in Istanbul, and urged the European Union not to undermine the negotiations.
"This week could be a great one for the whole world if the Russian-Ukrainian talks in Turkey yield success. Everyone finally stands for peace, and I really hope that European colleagues will not take any actions to hamper the success of the peace talks," Szijjarto wrote on his Facebook page (banned in Russia, owned by Meta Corporation, which is designated as extremist in the country).
Speaking to reporters in the Kremlin in the early hours of May 11, Putin urged Kiev to resume direct talks suspended in 2022, without preconditions. The plan is to start dialogue in Istanbul on May 15. Putin also recalled that Russia had declared multiple ceasefires that Kiev consistently broke, including a recent truce during the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War.
Vladimir Zelensky, in turn, announced plans to travel to Istanbul on Thursday. The statement came after Trump urged Ukraine to immediately accept Putin’s offer for talks. Prior to that, Zelensky had insisted that a 30-day ceasefire should precede any negotiations with Moscow.