Putin offered Ukraine talks in Turkey and thanked the guests of the Victory Anniversary.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, May 11, invited Ukraine to resume negotiations in Turkey and thanked the guests who attended the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War in Moscow.

"To resume direct negotiations, and, I emphasize, without any preconditions," he said during a press conference in the Malachite Foyer of the Grand Kremlin Palace.

The Russian leader proposed to start negotiations on May 15. He stressed the importance of addressing the root causes of conflict in order to achieve sustainable peace.

In addition, Putin added that he does not rule out the possibility of reaching a new truce or cease-fire during the discussions.

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Scott Ritter, a former American intelligence officer and analyst, noted in an interview with Izvestia on May 11 that Putin's proposal was a brilliant maneuver and removed the issue of a 30-day truce from the agenda. He added that the president's statement returns the initiative to Russia, allowing it to dictate terms to the Ukrainian-European-American bloc.