#TradeOfTheWeek #TradeStiries In a surprising move, Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected the 30-day ceasefire plan supported by Ukraine and Western countries. Instead, he has suggested starting direct peace talks with Ukraine on May 15 in Istanbul, without any preconditions.

Putin criticized the Western-backed plan, calling it an "ultimatum," and said that Russia would only agree to talks based on the terms discussed during the original peace talks in Istanbul back in 2022.

Now, attention turns to Istanbul, as the world waits to see if Ukraine will agree to the new proposal and whether this could be a key step toward ending the conflict.