Putin says he currently sees no reason to meet Ukraine's Zelenskiy

ST PETERSBURG: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he currently saw no reason to meet Volodymyr Zelenskiy after the Ukrainian president published an open letter proposing they hold face-to-face talks to agree an end to a warnow in its fifth year.

In his letter, which was sent to other countries, including the US, Zelenskiy said the majority of Russians had grown tired of Ukrainian missile and drone attacks, high inflation and fuel shortages, and were ready for peace.

He also suggested that continuing the war could threaten Putin’s own position, saying that history had shown that when Russia got tired, change followed.

Speaking at an annual economic forum where some of Russia’s richest businessmen complained about high interest rates and economic stagnation stemming from the war, Putin said the letter did not come across as a sincere offer to hold talks.

“This letter contains some rather rude remarks. 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 latter,” Putin said.

Also read: Zelenskiy, in open letter, invites Putin to talks to end the war

Asked whether he would meet Zelenskiy, whom the 73-year-old Kremlin chief was careful not to name but to refer to only as “the letter’s author,” Putin was blunt:

“I don’t see the point in meeting; 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.

“Let the experts get to work and come up with some solutions. After that, we can meet,” the Russian leader said.

Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, said Putin’s response to his proposal for a face-to-face meeting made it plain that the Kremlin leader did not want to end the war.

“Unfortunately, the Russian side is once again choosing war - everyone heard the response. A weak response. I think this response will have disappointed many in the world,” Zelenskiy said.

That meant, he said, trying to ensure that Russia had less revenue and “faced greater pressure”.

Russian war bloggers have similarly dismissed Zelenskiy’s letter as a malicious public relations stunt designed to stir up discontent inside Russia rather than end the war.

Hardline stance

In a meeting with international media on Thursday, Putin had stuck to his hardline stance on the war and said his troops were advancing on the battlefield every day. But he also said US President Donald Trump’s proposals for peace could end the fighting if Kyiv were ready to compromise. Both sides accuse the other of refusing to compromise.

The conflict has long turned into a grinding war of attrition in eastern Ukraine, with a high death toll on both sides.

Also read: Peace hopes dented as Russia says Ukraine tried to attack Putin residence

Russia, which is much bigger and stronger than Ukraine, still only controls about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory more than four years after Putin’s decision to send in tens of thousands of troops.

Meanwhile, Western sanctions and Ukrainian drone and missile strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure and other strategic targets have begun to weigh heavily on the country’s economy, strengthening the arguments of some in the business and political elite that a peace deal should be struck.

Ukraine says it will not withdraw its forces from the part of the eastern Donbas region that it still holds and says it will never recognise Russian sovereignty over Ukrainian territory Moscow has seized.

This week, Russia again fired hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukrainian cities and towns, including Kyiv, killing dozens of people. Ukraine has also stepped up its strikes inside Russia, including on its oil refineries.