Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for an end to the war in an open letter released as Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the media at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. This comes a day after Ukrainian forces attacked Russian cities.
“The fact that the war is having more and more negative consequences for Russia shows that the Russians are finally not satisfied with this reality,” Zelenskyy wrote. “They don’t like the fact that there is no end in sight to the war.”
The Ukrainian leader said Putin “regularly” postponed deadlines for the occupation of Ukrainian regions, especially Donetsk.
“And you won’t catch it this year either,” he said.
President Zelenskiy called for direct talks with President Putin to end the war, stressing that peace should not wait until the United States turns its attention from Iran to the Ukraine-Russia war.
“It is clear that the United States is fully focused on the Iranian issue, and it would be a mistake to simply wait until the war in Europe returns to the center of American attention,” Zelenskiy said.
“Ukraine proposes to end this war through direct engagement between us and you. I propose talks,” he wrote, adding that the talks should be held in a third country and a clear date should be set. During these talks, Zelenskiy said there was a need for a complete ceasefire.
“Trying to establish true silence is the best way to start talking to each other.”
Russian state news agency TASS quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that the Kremlin had seen Zelensky’s letter and that President Putin would be briefed on it. He also said that if Zelenskyy wanted to meet Putin, “he could come to Moscow.”
Zelenskiy reiterated in his letter that he is no novice to travel to the Russian capital.
Meanwhile, Putin said in St. Petersburg that U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to end the war could be the “foundation” for a peace deal, but it would require compromises from both sides.
“We have largely agreed to these compromises. We just need to convince the Ukrainian side. That’s it,” he said. “But overall, I believe that they are very likely to be the basis for an agreement between Russia and Ukraine that can bring an end to this conflict.”
