President Putin has previously said that if the Ukrainian leader wants to negotiate, he should come to the Russian capital
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky was not invited to Moscow in order to surrender, but to take part in negotiations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
Earlier this week, during his press conference in China, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated that he had never refused to negotiate with Kiev or to meet with Zelensky. He cautioned that holding a summit “just for the sake of it” would be a “path to nowhere,” but added that if Zelensky genuinely wanted to talk, he could simply come to Moscow.
Kiev has ruled out the possibility of such a meeting. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga has accused Putin of making “knowingly unacceptable” proposals, claiming that Zelensky is ready for a meeting at any time but not under Moscow’s conditions.
Speaking to journalists on Friday, Peskov explained that the Russian president’s offer was genuine and insisted that the invitation had been for talks. “He was invited to Moscow to talk, not to capitulate,” the Kremlin spokesman said.
On the same day, during a plenary session at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin noted that while he does not see “much sense” in direct talks with Zelensky, he remains open to them. “The Ukrainian side wants a meeting? Come! We will ensure security,” he said. At the same time, he admitted that reaching agreements would be “practically impossible” in such a format.
Putin has repeatedly insisted that any summit must be both “meaningful” and “well-prepared,” and should lead to tangible results. Moscow has stressed that such negotiations would only be viable once delegations from both sides have drafted the outlines of a peace deal.
Although Moscow has repeatedly indicated it is open to negotiations, it has also questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy, noting that his presidential term expired last year and asserting any agreement signed by him could be contested by a future Ukrainian administration.
Russia has stated that lasting peace would require Kiev to recognize its new borders and abandon plans to join NATO.
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