Zelensky: Ukraine proposes ceasefire with Russia ahead of leaders' meeting

He stated this at a press briefing on Wednesday, June 4, Ukrinform reports.

"The Russians are not ready for a ceasefire — at least, not at the level of their current delegation. They told us directly that this is a matter for the leaders. We are proposing — and I think our partners may support us — we are proposing to the Russians a ceasefire ahead of the leaders' meeting," Zelensky said.

He added that Ukraine is ready for such a meeting immediately and is open to holding it in several potential locations: "My personal position is that we're ready to meet right away. [...] The meeting can be held at the Russians' choice — Istanbul, the Vatican, Switzerland — any of those options. We're proposing to meet starting next Monday, on any day."

Zelensky expressed hope that U.S. President Donald Trump would support the idea.

"I'm confident [Turkish] President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan will support it, as he has already mentioned in our conversations that he'd like a four-way meeting: President Erdogan, President Trump, myself, and Putin. We're ready for such a meeting on any day," Zelensky said.

At the same time, he stressed that if the leaders' meeting fails to produce progress toward de-escalation or peace, Russia could unilaterally end the ceasefire the same day.

"If we see a path forward for dialogue and de-escalation, then the ceasefire could be extended — with American monitoring and their mediation guarantees," he added.

Zelensky also noted that if Russia is unwilling to consider a longer-term ceasefire, then Ukraine is still ready to meet as soon as tomorrow.

A second round of negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian delegations took place in Istanbul on June 2. Following the talks, Ukraine's defense minister and head of the delegation, Rustem Umerov, said Ukraine had proposed holding a meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia between June 20 and 30.