Russian President Vladimir Putin reacted to Zelensky's invitation to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart. But the Kremlin chief stated that "currently I see no reason to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky."
Speaking at an annual economic forum where some of Russia's wealthiest businessmen complained about high interest rates and economic stagnation stemming from the war, Putin said Zelensky's letter did not look like a sincere offer to hold talks.
"This letter contains some rather inappropriate remarks. Was it a way to create the conditions for a face-to-face meeting or a way to avoid scheduling a face-to-face meeting? I think it was the latter."
Asked if he would meet with Zelensky, whom the Russian president was careful not to mention by name, referring to him only as "the author of the letter", Putin reacted sharply:
“I don’t see the point of the meeting; the only point is for the Ukrainian side to stop the advance of our armed forces. But we need an agreement – not for six months, not for three months, but for a long term. Let the experts start working and come up with some solutions. After that, we can meet…”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published an open letter proposing that leaders hold face-to-face talks to agree to end the war, now in its fifth year.
In his letter, which was sent to other countries, including the United States, Zelensky said that most Russians were tired of Ukrainian missile and drone attacks, high inflation and fuel shortages, and that they were ready for peace.
He also suggested that continuing the war could threaten Putin's own position, saying that history has shown that when Russia gets tired, change comes.
