Putin Says There Is No Point Meeting Zelensky Over Ending Ukraine War

Russian President Vladimir Putin said there was "no point" in meeting Volodymyr Zelensky over ending the war, after Zelensky sent an open letter calling for face-to-face talks and a ceasefire.

“Il presidente russo risponde alla lettera aperta del leader di Kiev: "Non vedo il senso”

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Putin made the remarks while speaking at Russia's annual economic forum in St Petersburg on Friday, telling reporters, "I don't see any point for now," when asked whether he would take up Zelensky's offer.

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Putin said a ceasefire would only allow Ukraine to regroup, and he argued that Moscow needed agreements "for the long term" before any meeting could happen.

Zelensky responded that Russia "was choosing war again," writing on Telegram after hearing Putin's answer.

The BBC also reported that Putin reiterated his position that peace talks should precede any ceasefire, while Zelensky pressed for direct negotiations to end the war between the two nations.

In response to Zelensky's call for direct talks, the EU backed the Ukrainian leader's request in a letter to Putin, and an EU spokeswoman said, "We welcome President Zelensky's call for direct negotiations and also the call for a ceasefire".

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Zelensky's appeal for direct talks with Putin, saying it was "time" to resume dialogue with Moscow and adding, "I believe that it is now up to Ukraine and Russia to establish both a ceasefire and a peace plan."

Al Jazeera

Putin rejected the meeting as senseless, telling Russia's flagship economic forum in Saint Petersburg that "It only makes sense for the Ukrainian side to stop the advance of our armed forces."

Zelensky's letter had also argued that it would be wrong to simply wait for US attention to return to the Ukraine-Russia war, and it said Ukraine proposed ending the war through direct engagement between the two leaders.

The BBC further reported that Putin called Zelensky's note "rude" and refused the request for a meeting, while Zelensky said the world was disappointed by the response.

Putin said the only point was for the Ukrainian side to halt the advance of Russia's armed forces, and he insisted that "we need agreements" before any leaders-level meeting could occur.

“A Russian entrepreneur met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv three weeks ago, at Zelensky's request, who asked him to deliver to Vladimir Putin a request for a meeting”

ANSA

He reiterated Russia's longstanding position that Ukraine should withdraw from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as abandon efforts to join Nato, while Kyiv refused to give up any territory.

The BBC reported that at least 13 people have been killed and 70 others injured in a series of Russian attacks on Ukraine in the past day, including four deaths after a dairy factory was hit outside Kyiv and a drone strike on a petrol station in Kherson that killed a 35-year-old woman.

Zelensky's open letter also referenced Russian strikes and Ukrainian long-range drone attacks, including one on St Petersburg on Thursday that he described as "paying a visit."

With the meeting rejected for now, the sources show the dispute is still framed around ceasefire timing and territorial conditions, while diplomacy remains tied to whether agreements can be reached "for the long term".