ISTANBUL
The Kremlin on Thursday said Moscow remains the only venue under consideration for a possible face-to-face meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, dismissing discussions about alternative locations as inappropriate.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state news agency TASS that Russia is “still talking about Moscow” and stressed that “speculative discussions are inappropriate” when it comes to the potential meeting.
His remarks came a day after Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed Zelenskyy expressed interest in meeting Putin in person and said Moscow has never rejected such contacts.
“If Zelenskyy is indeed ready for such a meeting, he is welcome to Moscow. And we guarantee his safety and provide the necessary working conditions,” Ushakov said in an interview with Russian state broadcaster VGTRK.
Ushakov said the idea of a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting has been raised several times, including during phone conversations between Putin and US President Donald Trump. Moscow, he added, believes such a meeting must be carefully prepared and aimed at concrete results.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also said Zelenskyy is ready to meet Putin to address what he described as the “most sensitive” issues in Kyiv’s 20-point peace plan, including territorial questions and the operation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
“It is precisely to resolve them that the president is ready to meet with Putin and discuss this,” Sybiha said, expressing that he does not see the need to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, arguing they “should not create parallel tracks.”
Russia and Ukraine recently held US-mediated consultations in Abu Dhabi. A new round is due on Sunday, again in the UAE capital.