In a letter of more than 1,800 words, he also called for a complete ceasefire to be implemented throughout the proposed talks.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed a direct meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In an open letter to Putin, Zelensky said peace can only be achieved through direct dialogue between Ukraine and Russia. In the more than 1,800-word letter, he also called for a complete ceasefire during the proposed talks. But Putin rejected the offer on Thursday. US President Donald Trump said it would be “very good” for the two leaders to meet. “It would be great if they met. They should meet and resolve this issue,” Trump said.
The Kremlin confirmed receipt of the letter and said it would inform Putin about it. Zelensky criticized Putin in the letter, citing recent attacks by Ukraine on Russian territory.
‘Ukraine proposes to end this war through direct dialogue between us and you,’ Zelensky wrote, ‘I propose a meeting.’
This proposal is not new. Zelensky had made a similar proposal before. In response, the Kremlin said that it would welcome Zelensky to come to Moscow and meet Putin.
In the letter, Zelensky said that it would be ‘wrong’ to wait for the US to fully focus on the war in Europe again. ‘It is not right to wait for the war in Europe to return to the center of American attention,’ he wrote.
Speaking to foreign journalists in St. Petersburg, Putin said that he was ready to reach an agreement with Ukraine, but that it would require ‘compromise’.
Putin has insisted that Ukraine withdraw its claims to the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, which Russia partially controls, and abandon its efforts to join NATO.
Ukraine has refused to give up any territory, saying doing so would embolden Russia to invade again in the future.
