Zelenskyy reveals meeting format that would be harder for Putin to reject
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (facebook.com_zelenskyy.official)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump have discussed the possibility of organizing a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the United States under a format that would make it difficult for him to refuse, according to Zelenskyy.
"Yesterday, we discussed with President Trump that such a meeting could be organized in the US – in a format where Putin would find it much harder to refuse at least to President Trump. We will see what comes of it. If Russia refuses this chance as well, additional pressure will be needed," the President said.
Zelenskyy recalled that Putin had previously been offered meetings in any location where real decisions on ending the full-scale war could be made, but the Russian leader was not interested.
"We discussed with the US and France the possibility of a meeting with Russia around the G7, with all democratic nations represented. Putin does not want it," he emphasized.
We offered Putin to meet anywhere where real decisions to end the war could be made. He does not want it.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 15, 2026
We discussed with the U.S. and France the possibility of a meeting with Russia around the G7, with all democratic nations represented. Putin does not want it.
Yesterday,… pic.twitter.com/6NNQH8QLW8
Zelenskyy–Putin meeting proposal
On June 4, Zelenskyy published an open letter to the Russian leader in which he proposed holding a meeting in a third country in order to reach agreements on a lasting peace.
The Presidential Office understood that the Kremlin head was unlikely to engage in constructive dialogue, but the letter was aimed at several audiences at once — Putin himself, representatives of Russia’s elite, and Ukraine’s international partners.
In response, Putin criticized Zelenskyy’s initiative, complaining about the rude tone of the letter. At the same time, he rejected the idea of personal talks, saying that he does not see any point in them.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stressed that Putin has lost the opportunity to exit the war, which, according to him, is increasingly turning into a failure for Russia, while international pressure on Moscow continues to grow.
