Putin-Zelensky meeting would only be in Moscow – Kremlin
Only Moscow is currently being discussed as a venue for a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Thursday.
Russia has discussed a potential Putin-Zelensky summit on multiple occasions, including in phone conversations between Putin and US President Donald Trump, according to the Kremlin.
“We’re still talking about Moscow,” Peskov said in a press briefing. “Speculative discussions are inappropriate here.”
A day earlier, Putin’s top aide Yury Ushakov reaffirmed that a meeting could be arranged in the Russian capital.
“Our president has also said several times to journalists that if Zelensky is truly ready for a meeting, then we would be happy to invite him to Moscow,” he told the national broadcaster Russia 1. “And we will guarantee his safety and the necessary working conditions.”
The presidential aide stressed, however, that such a summit would need to be both carefully prepared and goal-oriented with the aim of signing concrete agreements.
The comments came a few days after the first direct trilateral talks between Russia, US and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi.
The negotiations have “made a lot of progress,” with a “lot of good things happening between the counterparties,” White House special envoy Steve Witkoff said in a cabinet meeting on Thursday.
The next round of trilateral talks is scheduled for Sunday, but Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will not be attending, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The Ukrainian leader signed a decree banning negotiations with Putin in 2022, after four former Ukrainian regions overwhelmingly voted to join Russia in a series of referendums.
Moscow has repeatedly pointed out that despite voicing readiness to meet the Russian president, Zelensky has not yet repealed the ban.
