Overview
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published a public letter proposing a direct, leader-level meeting with Vladimir Putin and offering a full ceasefire for the duration of negotiations, according to multiple reports on Thursday.
- Zelensky said any meeting must take place in a neutral third country and suggested Switzerland, Turkey or Arab states, explicitly ruling out talks in Moscow.
- The Kremlin confirmed Putin had been informed and spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Zelensky could come to Moscow, a suggestion Kyiv had already rejected in the letter.
- Putin publicly dismissed the idea on Friday, saying he saw "no point" in meeting now and insisting that any settlement must include concessions from Kyiv and technical agreements first.
- The appeal follows stepped-up Ukrainian long-range strikes into Russian territory, including attacks on Saint Petersburg, and comes as Germany, France and Britain privately discuss possible engagement with Moscow and as Russia's elite debate whether the war or peace better serves the economy.