Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday once again said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should go to Moscow for direct talks, saying he could guarantee Zelensky’s safety – but cast doubt on whether a peace deal could ever be reached.
Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin claimed Russia was ready for a high-level meeting.
“Please come, we will absolutely ensure the conditions for work and security. A one hundred percent guarantee,” he said, as reported by Interfax Russia.
Putin rejected holding such talks in a third country, insisting the Russian capital was the only option.
“The best place for this is the capital of the Russian Federation, the Hero City of Moscow,” he said, referring to the honorary Soviet title granted in 1965, 20 years after the end of WWII – a distinction also given to Kyiv.
But the Russian leader also said he sees little chance of a breakthrough.
“Even if there were political will, which I doubt, there are legal and technical obstacles,” Putin said, citing Ukraine’s constitutional requirement for a referendum on territorial agreements – impossible to hold under martial law.
Putin made similar suggestions on Wednesday in Beijing, a notion Kyiv’s foreign minister called “unacceptable.”
“I said yes, it is possible. In the end, if Zelensky is ready, let him come to Moscow – such a meeting will take place,” Putin said during a speech after a military parade in Beijing.
Zelensky dismissed the idea on Thursday. “I believe that if you want the meeting not to happen, you should invite me to Moscow,” he said, accusing Russia of deliberately delaying direct negotiations.
However, he said the fact that Putin raised the prospect of talks was “not bad.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin’s invitation was “to talk, not to capitulate,” but claimed Zelensky personally rejected it through Ukraine’s foreign ministry.
Meanwhile, Trump – who had set aside two weeks in August to push for talks between Zelensky and Putin – said neither leader is ready for peace. The US president vowed to keep pressing for a deal, calling his stance “realistic and optimistic.”
He plans another round of talks in the coming days and is preparing a phone call with Putin, according to the White House.
The Kremlin later said Putin had “no preparations” for talks with Trump but could arrange them quickly if needed, as reported by Interfax Russia.
Peskov described their conversations as “difficult,” with each side defending national interests. “But Putin values this highly. He is grateful to Trump for that,” he said.
Trump recently expressed frustration over stalled negotiations. “We always had a great relationship… But I am very disappointed in President Putin,” he said, pledging to “do something” to help Ukrainians “live.”
