End of the Ukraine war insight as Putin and Zelensky agree to meet
To be a fly on the wall during their meeting

Reuters reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has consented to convene with Russian President Vladimir Putin for negotiations scheduled to occur in Istanbul in the forthcoming days.
An offer you can't refuse

Zelensky reportedly accepted a meeting with Putin after US President Donald Trump urged the Ukrainian leader to accept the Kremlin’s proposal of direct talks.
Where Europe stands

According to CNN, Ukraine’s major European allies gave the Kremlin an ultimatum: an unconditional 30-day ceasefire or face a new round of sanctions.
Putin's counteroffer

However, Putin didn’t acknowledge the ultimatum, instead proposing to hold direct talks in Turkey’s capital.
EU Vs. USA

Ukraine’s European allies insisted that these talks could not take place unless the Kremlin accepted the ceasefire. However, CNN claims that this was undermined by the White House pushing for immediate talks.
'End of the bloodbath'

"President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH. Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY," Trump wrote on Truth Social, as quoted by Reuters.
Still an optimist

Al Jazeera writes that Zelensky still hoped that the Kremlin would accept a ceasefire in preparations for the talks in Istanbul.
The dream of peace

According to Al Jazeera, Zelensky said on social media that it was a “positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war” and that “the entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time”.
'No point in continuing'

“There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire,” Zelensky wrote.