No talks with terrorists: Putin refuses meeting with Zelenskyy

During his speech, Putin claimed that Ukraine is suffering significant losses on the battlefield, and therefore, "the Kyiv leadership has resorted to organizing terrorist acts." Putin mentioned incidents involving bridges on Russian territory, three of which collapsed over the past weekend.

Additionally, Putin stated that Ukraine is requesting "a suspension of hostilities for 30 or even 60 days."

"They are asking for a high-level meeting. But how can such meetings be held under these conditions? What is there to talk about? Who negotiates with those who rely on terror, with terrorists?" the President said.

At the same time, Putin claimed that a battlefield pause would be used by Ukraine "to pump the regime with Western weapons, to continue forced mobilization, and to prepare other terrorist acts similar to those carried out in the Bryansk and Kursk regions." However, it is worth noting that during the second round of negotiations in Istanbul, it was the Russian delegation that proposed introducing a temporary ceasefire in certain areas of the front.

Possible meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin

Before the first round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, which took place on May 16, Zelenskyy had proposed a personal meeting with Putin. However, this proposal was ignored by Russia. Moreover, the Kremlin sent a delegation to Ukraine that was significantly lower in rank.

At the time, US President Donald Trump had stated that he could attend a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, but the American leader later changed his mind.

Yesterday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Putin is interested in a future trilateral meeting with Trump and Zelenskyy.

However, the Russian President wants to meet only after all technical details have been worked out and agreed upon within the framework of a future ceasefire or a long-term peace agreement.