The Kremlin has responded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which proposed a full ceasefire to negotiate an end to more than four years of war, by saying that: “If Zelensky wants to meet with Putin, he can come to Moscow.”
Mr Zelensky’s letter was seen by some commentators as “taunting” Mr Putin by telling him the Russian people wanted an end to the war
“(The Russian people) do not like our drones and missiles,” Mr Zelensky wrote. “They do not like the shortage of gasoline and the constant rise in prices. They do not like the constant bans. They do not like your intention to organize a second wave of mobilization to expand the war to another direction in Ukraine or to direct it against some other countries — Russia’s neighbors. They do not like the fact that there is no end in sight to your war.”
However, in St Petersburg, on the sidelines of an economic forum, Mr Putin told international reporters that Russia’s forces are advancing “along the whole” frontline in Ukraine – adding the claim that Kyiv is suffering a “catastrophic” shortage of manpower. Analysts later disputed that claim.
Addressing possible negotiations in his open letter, Mr Zelensky said that because the United States was concentrating on the conflict in Iran “it would be wrong to simply wait until the war in Europe returns to the centre of its attention” – and he called for “a full ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations”, saying that this “is standard practice”.
US President Donald Trump, said that he was “glad that they’re maybe talking about meeting”, adding “I think we had a lot to do with it.”
“I think it’d be great if they met – they should get it done,” he said.
Mr Zelensky said in the letter that: “Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us — and you. I am proposing a meeting.”
“If you do not personally come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue fighting for its existence,” he added.
But “the Kremlin brushed off President Volodymyr Zelensky’s open letter to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, calling for a direct meeting to end Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine,” The Kyiv Post reported this morning.
Zelensky’s letter, published late on Thursday, came amid Putin’s meeting with senior editors of major news agencies in the Constantine Palace during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
According to a Telegram post reporting the meeting live, the Kremlin responded: “If Zelensky wants to meet with Putin, he can come to Moscow.”