Putin calls for 'direct talks' with Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for "direct talks" with Ukraine, saying they should "start without delay, as early as 15 May".

"We seek serious talks... to remove the root causes of the conflict and start moving towards a lasting, strong peace", he said on Saturday, in a rare televised late-night address from the Kremlin.

It comes hours after European leaders - including UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron - visited Ukraine and urged Russia to agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said Moscow would "have to think this through" - but warned that "trying to pressure us is quite useless".

In his statement, Putin said he would "not rule out" that in the course of the talks - which he proposed should happen in Turkey's capital Istanbul - Russia and Ukraine may "be able to agree new ceasefires, a new truce".

The Russian leader said he would speak to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday to discuss the details.

Kyiv has not commented on the proposal from Putin.

Earlier on Saturday, European leaders travelled to the Ukrainian capital and called on Moscow to agree to a month-long ceasefire with Ukraine, starting on Monday.

The call was issued at a meeting of the so-called "coalition of the willing", with the leaders of France, Germany, the UK and Poland seen standing alongside Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.

They made the announcement after discussing the plan, by phone, with US President Donald Trump - who initially mooted an unconditional ceasefire. The leaders threatened Russia with "massive" sanctions if it did not comply.

In response, the Kremlin said it was considering the proposal but would not respond to pressure.

After the meeting, Sir Keir said: "All of us here together with the US are calling [Russian President Vladimir] Putin out. If he is serious about peace, then he has a chance to show it."

Zelensky added: "Thank you all for standing with us. Today we will focus on how to build and guarantee real and lasting security."

Hours later, Putin made his own statement, with video showing journalists assembled in a hall inside the Kremlin.

"This would be the first step towards a long-term, lasting peace, rather than a prologue to more armed hostilities after the Ukrainian armed forces get new armaments and personnel, after feverish trench-digging and the establishment of new command posts," he said.

"Who needs peace like that?"

Putin also accused Ukraine of having repeatedly failed to respond to three ceasefire proposals from Moscow - a 30-day halt in attacks on energy infrastructure, the Easter truce and a ceasefire ordered last month by Putin to coincide with World War Two commemorations last week.

Ukraine has previously said Russian attacks continued throughout these periods. Russia has made similar claims about Ukraine.

"In spite of everything, we are offering the Kyiv authorities to resume the negotiations... resume direct talks, and I stress, without any preconditions," Putin said on Saturday night.

The last direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv happened shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began more than three years ago.