Zelenskyy rejects Kremlin demand to meet Putin in Moscow
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a potential meeting with the Russian dictator could take place in a neutral country (Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Telegram)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on June 16 ruled out
meeting Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Moscow, saying Ukraine would not
play “games.”
Zelenskyy made the remarks while answering reporters’
questions on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
“I know Putin has repeatedly offered, through various
leaders, that I come to Moscow. But these are games. We do not play such
games,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy also said talks could take place in a neutral
country, not in Ukraine or Russia.
“It could be Switzerland, Türkiye or a country in the Middle
East,” he said.
Earlier on June 16, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov again
repeated the ultimatum that if Zelenskyy wants to meet Putin, he can do so in
Moscow. Peskov also again ignored Zelenskyy’s proposals to hold talks on
neutral territory.
The Kremlin spokesman also claimed Putin had not received an
invitation from Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the
sidelines of the G7 summit.
On June 15, Zelenskyy said he had proposed that Putin meet
during the G7 summit, held on June 15–17 in Evian-les-Bains, France.
On June 4, Zelenskyy published an open letter to Putin,
urging him to end the war “in a format between you and us” and proposing an
in-person meeting. In the letter, he also reminded Putin that Russia is
suffering serious battlefield losses — 63% killed and 37% wounded — has
repeatedly postponed its timeline for capturing Donetsk Oblast, and that
Russians are increasingly unhappy with Ukrainian drone attacks and fuel
shortages.
Zelenskyy also said Kyiv was ready for a full ceasefire to
enable negotiations and an all-for-all prisoner swap.
The EU and the United States welcomed the Ukrainian
president’s move.
Putin, responding to the letter, said he did “not see the
point” in meeting Zelenskyy for now.
The Russian dictator claimed the letter was written “with
elements of rudeness” and feigned surprise over why Ukraine would propose a
meeting and talks “while carrying out strikes” — a reference to a May 22 strike
by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on occupied Starobilsk in Luhansk Oblast.
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