Zelenskyy offers to meet Putin anywhere, anytime if a ceasefire is agreed
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Kyiv is ready to negotiate with Moscow in the coming days. However, for that to happen, a ceasefire is necessary, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The President of Ukraine emphasized that the Ukrainian side is ready for prisoner exchanges, as it considers it pointless to continue diplomatic meetings in Istanbul that yield no results. He noted that Russia, for its part, also shows readiness for exchanges, since it is interested in them.
At the same time, in the President's view, Russia is not inclined to a ceasefire.
"The Russians are not ready for a ceasefire; they believe it's a matter for the leaders to decide. My proposal — which I believe our partners may support — is that we suggest a ceasefire ahead of a leaders' meeting. That's my personal opinion," Zelenskyy stated.
He explained that Ukraine would agree to meet in any city chosen by Russia — be it Istanbul, the Vatican, or Switzerland.
"Why a ceasefire before the leaders meet? Because if we sit down without any mutual understanding or willingness to de-escalate, the ceasefire will end that same day, unilaterally, on Russia's side. But if we see that dialogue can continue and there's readiness for de-escalation steps, then we will maintain the ceasefire — under American monitoring and mediation," the president explained.
Zelenskyy also noted that such a meeting could take place on any day starting tomorrow.
"This is my personal proposal. All sides would benefit. If (US President Donald – ed.) Trump supports it, we'd be grateful. I'm confident President (of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip – ed.) Erdoğan would support it too. We're ready for such a meeting any day," he repeated.
Possible leaders' meeting
On June 3, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin is interested in a future trilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
However, according to the spokesperson, Putin wants such a meeting to take place only after all technical details are worked out and agreed upon within the framework of a future ceasefire or long-term peace agreement.
On June 2, the second round of negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations took place in Istanbul.
Reportedly, the two sides discussed, among other things, the possibility of presidential-level talks between Ukraine and Russia, with the involvement of certain Western leaders.
