Amid ongoing war between both the countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s proposal to have a face-to-face meeting. Speaking at the international economic forum in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Putin described Zelenskyy’s open letter proposing the meeting as “boorish.” “Is it a way to create conditions for personal meetings and talks, or create an environment which makes any personal meetings impossible?” he said. “I think it’s the second.” He said that he sees “no point” in the meeting.
Putin earlier saidย Russia is “ready and willing” to reach an agreement with Ukraine
Earlier in the day, he said Russia is “ready and willing” to reach an agreement with Ukraine based on US โPresident Donald Trump’s peace proposal if Kyiv was ready to make certain “compromises”.
In an interaction with heads of leading global news agencies, the Russian President said Moscow is strengthening its air defences to counter Ukrainian drone strikes, asserting that the “patriotism and will of the Russian people” will ensure they achieve their goals in Ukraine.
In a related development, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an open letter to Putin, called for a face-to-face meeting between himself and the Russian president to end the war peacefully.
Zelenskyy pitchesย for a full ceasefire to hold negotiations between the two sides
Zelenskyy pitched for a full ceasefire to hold negotiations between the two sides arguing that peace could only come through direct engagement between Ukraine and Russia.
The Kremlin said it received the letter.
“Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us – and you.I am proposing a meeting,” the Ukrainian president wrote. In the press interaction where PTI was the only Indian media outlet, Putin insisted that Ukraine will have to make compromises and specifically referred to the summit meeting he had with President Trump in Alaska’s Anchorage in August last year.
“Without doubt, we are ready and willing to reach an agreement with Ukraine by peaceful means — and based on what we have discussed at the meeting with President Trump in Anchorage,” Putin said.
“At that meeting, certain questions were put before Russia so that we could agree on certain compromises. Russia agrees to the compromises discussed in Anchorage. It is necessary that Ukraine also agrees to make them. Then, the conflict will be resolved naturally and quickly,” he said without elaborating.
Putin said Russian military has brought approximately 2,440 square kilometres of territory under its control recently by pushing โUkrainian forces and that there is not a single place in the battlefield where Russian troops ate not advancing.
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