Sawt Falasteen - Trump mulls joining Ukraine talks in Turkey, Kremlin silent on Putin

The meeting in Istanbul would be the first direct negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian officials since the early months of Moscow's invasion in 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed he will join, saying earlier he wanted Trump to be there and was ready for "direct and substantive negotiations with Putin".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he is ready to host and urged the warring sides on Monday to seize the "window of opportunity" to reach a peace settlement.

Tens of thousands have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, while Moscow's army now controls around one-fifth of the country -- including the Crimean peninsula, annexed in 2014.

Putin proposed the direct meeting as a counteroffer to a 30-day ceasefire put forward by Kyiv and its allies over the weekend, which Ukraine accused Russia of "completely ignoring" on Monday.

Trump told reporters earlier he would attend talks if he "thought it would be helpful".

"I was thinking about actually flying over there. There's a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen," Trump told journalists at the White House prior to departing for a trip to the Middle East.

- 'How long can it last?' -

After Trump on Sunday publically called on Ukraine to sit down with Russia, Zelensky said he would be willing to meet Putin in Turkey "personally".

"We are ready for direct talks with Putin," the Ukrainian leader confirmed again on Monday, after a call with Erdogan.

But when asked who Russia would send to Istanbul, the Kremlin declined to comment.

"We are focused on a serious search for ways to achieve a long-term peaceful settlement," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, without elaborating.

Peskov had earlier criticised European countries for pressuring Russia to accept a 30-day ceasefire ahead of the proposed talks.

"The language of ultimatums is unacceptable to Russia. It is not appropriate. You cannot talk to Russia in such a language," Peskov told journalists.

Russia fired more than 100 drones at eastern Ukraine overnight, killing one person and wounding six, as well as damaging railway infrastructure and residential buildings, local officials said.

Residents in Bilytske, a small industrial town in east Ukraine, remained sceptical about the prospect of a ceasefire.

"We don't really believe, of course, but we hope," Alla, who woke up to the sound of explosions, told AFP.

Alyona, 39, standing next to her, said Putin and Zelensky needed to start negotiating.

"How long can it last? It's been three years already."

- 'Root causes' -

Putin has said any direct talks with Ukraine should focus on the "root causes" of the conflict, and did not "exclude" a possible ceasefire coming out of any talks in Istanbul.

Russia's references to the "root causes" of the conflict typically refer to alleged grievances with Kyiv and the West that Moscow has put forward as justification for its invasion.

They include pledges to "de-Nazify" and de-militarise Ukraine, protect Russian speakers in the country's east and push back against NATO expansion.

Kyiv and the West have rejected all of them, saying Russia's invasion is nothing more than an imperial-style land grab.

Russian and Ukrainian officials held talks in Istanbul in March 2022 aimed at halting the conflict but did not strike a deal.

Contact between the warring sides has been extremely limited since, mainly dedicated to humanitarian issues like prisoner-of-war exchanges and the return of killed soldiers' bodies.

EU leaders, including France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz, have welcomed the prospect of direct talks, but pressed Russia to agree to a ceasefire first.

Germany warned the "clock is ticking" for Russia to agree by the end of Monday to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine or face potential new sanctions.

Russia's key ally China on Monday called for a "binding peace agreement" that was "acceptable to all parties".

M.AbuKhalil--SF-PST