Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has published a rare open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin proposing direct, face-to-face negotiations to end the five-year war.
The diplomatic push comes as American-led peace efforts remain effectively frozen due to the United States’ heavy focus on the ongoing Iran conflict. Zelensky noted in his appeal that with American diplomatic attention diverted, only direct engagement between Kyiv and Moscow can break the current stalemate over territorial boundaries.
Zelensky offered to implement a full ceasefire for the duration of the summit and called for an all-for-all prisoner exchange. He suggested hosting the meeting in a neutral country such as Switzerland, Turkey, or an Arab nation. He explicitly ruled out any meeting on Russian territory.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded by stating Zelensky was welcome to meet Putin in Moscow at any time. Speaking to foreign journalists in St. Petersburg, Putin repeated his earlier remarks questioning Zelensky’s legitimacy as a political leader, pointing out that the Ukrainian president’s initial five-year term officially expired in 2024. The two leaders have not held direct talks since their only in-person meeting in Paris in December 2019.