Overview
- On Friday at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, President Vladimir Putin said he “sees no sense” in meeting Volodymyr Selenskyj and repeated that Russia demands full control of the Donbass as the basis for any settlement.
- Selenskyj’s open letter had proposed face‑to‑face talks on neutral soil, a ceasefire during negotiations, and prisoner exchanges with the United States and European powers as guarantors.
- European leaders and EU institutions welcomed Kyiv’s initiative and arranged high‑level coordination with Selenskyj, including a London meeting of European heads of government this weekend to press support for Ukraine.
- The exchange follows Ukrainian long‑range drone strikes that hit targets around St. Petersburg just before the forum, continued episodic prisoner swaps, and Putin’s admission that Russia’s economic growth has slowed.
- Informal mediation moves are increasing — including Putin’s private meeting with Gerhard Schröder and President Trump’s public openness to a meeting — but no concrete negotiation channel has been agreed and positions remain far apart.