Russian President Putin stated on the 5th that he will not meet with Ukrainian President Zelensky in the near future.
Just the day before, Ukrainian President Zelensky had publicly sent a letter to Putin, proposing a face-to-face meeting in a third country to end the conflict. At that time, Kremlin spokesperson Peskov responded that if Zelensky wanted to negotiate, he could come to Moscow at any time.
At the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Putin said that he considers a meeting with Zelensky “meaningless” before peace agreement conditions have been negotiated.
He said: “I do not see the point of a meeting. For Ukraine, the only thing that matters is to stop our military advance, that’s all. But what we need is an agreement... Let the experts work first, and after they have drawn up some proposals, then we can meet.”
He emphasized that Russian forces will continue military operations until all war objectives have been fully achieved.
After Putin’s rejection, Zelensky said: “Unfortunately, Russia has once again chosen war, and everyone heard today’s response. It is a weak response. He simply does not want to end the war.”