Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s request for face-to-face negotiations, saying he sees “no point” in such a meeting at this stage of the war.
Speaking at Russia’s annual economic forum in St Petersburg on Friday, Putin responded dismissively to an open letter Zelenskyy published the previous day calling for direct talks. “Was it a way to create the conditions for a face-to-face meeting or a way not to set up a face-to-face meeting? I think it was the second,” Putin said. He also described the letter as containing “some rather rude remarks.”
Zelenskyy’s letter had urged an immediate ceasefire and argued it was “wrong to simply wait” for the conflict, now in its fourth year following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, to regain US attention. The letter struck a defiant tone, with Zelenskyy noting recent Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian territory and suggesting that “after 26 years in power, age is beginning to take its toll” on Putin.
Putin Insists on Agreements Before Any Ceasefire
Putin reiterated his longstanding position that any ceasefire would simply allow Ukraine to regroup, insisting that lasting agreements must come before a halt in fighting. “The only point is for the Ukrainian side to halt the advance of our armed forces. But we need agreements, not for six months, not for three months, but for the long term,” he said. “Let the experts get to work and come up with some solutions. After that, we can meet.”
Russia continues to demand that Ukraine withdraw from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions and abandon its NATO membership bid. Kyiv firmly rejects any territorial concessions, arguing they would only invite further Russian aggression.
Following Putin’s remarks, Zelenskyy accused Moscow of prolonging the conflict. “He just doesn’t want to end the war. I think that many in the world were disappointed by this answer,” he wrote on Telegram.
Meanwhile, the violence continued, as Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past 24 hours killed at least 13 people and injured 70 others. Ukraine also reported striking five vessels allegedly carrying illegal cargo in the Sea of Azov.
