Zelenskyy says he proposed face-to-face talks with Putin this week
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (Getty Images)
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had proposed that Russian leader Vladimir Putin meet this week, according to The Guardian.
A meeting to end the full-scale war could have taken place during the G7 summit in France (June 15–17), but Putin is not ready to negotiate.
"We gave a message that we are ready to meet with Putin during the G7, because Trump is there and Macron is there, so Europeans plus America. This is a good, I think, very good opportunity to meet all together," Zelenskyy said.
The head of state added that Europe and the United States had agreed, but the aggressor country once again demonstrated that it is not ready to negotiate.
On June 4, Volodymyr Zelenskyy published an open letter to the Kremlin leader proposing a meeting in a third country to reach agreements on long-term peace.
The Office of the President understood that Putin was unlikely to respond constructively, but the appeal was addressed to several audiences at once — Putin himself, Russian elites, and international partners.
In response, Putin criticized Zelenskyy's initiative, claiming the letter had "elements of rudeness." He also rejected the idea of personal talks, saying he "sees no sense in it."
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in turn that Putin had lost a chance to exit a failing war, and that international pressure on Russia would only continue to increase.
