Bloomberg: EU waits for possible meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin before putting pressure on US over sanctions

European leaders are ready to wait until a possible meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Türkiye before pressuring the United States to impose new sanctions against Moscow.

Source: European Pravda with reference to Bloomberg

Details: According to informed sources, US and European officials held talks on 12 May, which made it clear that the US wanted to give Russia and Ukraine a chance to hold talks on 15 May before stepping up pressure on Putin.

The agency sources said that if Putin refused to meet with Zelenskyy or Russia did not agree to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire on 15 May, European leaders would call on US President Donald Trump to carry out his threat and impose new sanctions against Moscow.

Nevertheless, it is noted that during the negotiations on 12 May, the Americans did not give a clear answer as to whether they were ready to impose sanctions against Russia if it attacked Ukraine this week. They also did not say what they would do if Putin refused to meet with Zelensky and continued to attack Ukraine.

Background:

• In a nighttime statement on 11 May, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin did not mention a 30-day ceasefire but said he was ready for "direct talks" with Kyiv in Istanbul on Thursday 15 May.
• On 11 May, US President Donald Trump publicly called on Ukraine to accept Russia's proposal for direct negotiations in Istanbul on 15 May, despite the Kremlin's refusal to agree to the 30-day ceasefire demanded by Kyiv and its Western allies.
• Zelenskyy reaffirmed on the evening of 11 May that Ukraine expects a full and lasting ceasefire from Russia starting on 12 May and declared that he will personally be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on 15 May for potential peace talks.
• The European Union may impose sanctions on the consortium operating the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if Russia fails to start a ceasefire as planned.

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