Zelenskyy responds to idea of calling Putin
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (Getty Images)
Phone calls to Russian leader Vladimir Putin are pointless. It will just be another history lecture rather than actual steps to end the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a briefing in Berlin.
Zelenskyy will not invite Putin
Asked whether he was ready to invite Putin to Kyiv for peace talks, Zelenskyy said no.
"Look, we are not inviting Putin to Kyiv. First of all, in 2022, they came to us without an invitation. But there is no point in inviting Putin to Kyiv because they will not come. Inviting them just so they won't show up is counterproductive," the president said.
He noted that Russia's invitation for him to visit Moscow would be equally counterproductive.
"It's simply a slap in the face to the entire world that wants this war to end. That is why no one will support trips to Moscow. It is clear why," Zelenskyy added.
A phone call to the Russian leader
Zelenskyy also spoke out against holding phone talks with Putin.
"Talk over the phone? Russia will certainly use this as an opportunity to avoid meeting. And we understand this game. It is a dead end," he said.
In the president's view, it would be a very formal, dry phone conversation during which Putin would deliver yet another history lecture rather than discuss any real steps toward ending the war.
"This is not something that should simply be discussed – we need to meet, negotiate, and prove why the other side is wrong, because it is the aggressor. If we want to end the war, we have to meet and take the first step – a ceasefire," Zelenskyy concluded.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a phone call with Putin on October 27. One of the main topics was peace negotiations aimed at ending the war against Ukraine.
In addition, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine needs to discuss security guarantees during the upcoming peace talks in Abu Dhabi.
It also emerged that Ukraine had approached Russia with a proposal to extend and expand the ceasefire following the humanitarian mission in Oleshky. In response, Ukraine was hit by a massive attack.
