Kremlin responds to Zelenskyy's proposal for talks in Kostiantynivka
Russian President Vladimir Putin (photo: Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but only in the Russian capital, says Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Details of Kremlin statement
Spokesperson Peskov commented on Volodymyr Zelenskyy's proposal to hold talks in Kostiantynivka, in Ukraine's Donetsk region.
Putin's aide repeated the false claim that the city "had come under Russian army control" and noted that Moscow is the capital of the Russian Federation.
"If Mr. Zelenskyy is expressing his willingness to come to the Russian Federation in this way, we welcome it. But we would like to remind that President Putin has said he is ready to receive him in Moscow," the Kremlin spokesperson claimed.
According to Peskov, the Ukrainian president can come to the Russian capital as soon as he is ready to "make important, responsible decisions," the content of which Zelenskyy is allegedly "well aware of."
Background on Kostiantynivka
As previously reported, Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold a bilateral meeting in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region. The Ukrainian president said that, on the eve of US Independence Day, Putin chose to lie to the international community and US President Donald Trump by falsely claiming that Russian forces had "captured" the city.
Zelenskyy stressed that if Kostiantynivka were indeed under Russian control, as Moscow claims, the Kremlin leader should have no problem traveling there for talks aimed at finding diplomatic solutions. At the same time, the Ukrainian president added that Putin would not cross the front line because the real situation differs dramatically from his claims.
Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry of Russia continued to spread false claims that it had established full control over the city. The ministry also proposed a temporary ceasefire in the area, supposedly to carry out a "humanitarian operation" to transfer the bodies of fallen service members.
Russian defense ministry said it expects Ukraine to approve the initiative to halt shelling in the designated area for a specified period.
