SAINT PETERSBURG: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ruled out meeting his Ukrainian counterpart any time soon, a day after Volodymyr Zelensky called for a sit-down between the leaders to end the four-year war.
Speaking at an economic forum in his home city of Saint Petersburg, Putin said he saw “no point” in meeting Zelensky until the terms of a possible peace deal had been agreed -- triggering Kyiv to say the Russian leader was “weak” and “choosing war again”.
Putin also vowed to press on with Russia´s military offensive until its war goals had been achieved in full.
Russia has demanded control of Ukraine´s eastern Donbas region as well as sweeping political and military restrictions on its neighbour.
Kyiv and its allies have ruled them out as tantamount to capitulation. US-brokered peace talks have failed to bring the sides closer to a deal. Zelensky had on Thursday issued a rare direct appeal to the Russian leader.
“Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us -- and you. I am proposing a meeting,” Zelensky said in the letter.
“I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting,” he said.
Putin on Friday refused.
“I see no point in meeting. It only makes sense for the Ukrainian side to stop the advance of our armed forces. That´s it. And we need agreements,” Putin told Russia´s flagship economic forum in Saint Petersburg.
“Let the experts work, develop some solutions, and then we can meet,” Putin added.
Hundreds of thousands have been killed since Putin launched his full-scale offensive -- which he calls a “special military operation” -- in February 2022.
Swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine have been destroyed and millions forced from their homes in a four-year campaign Moscow hoped would have toppled Kyiv within a matter of days.
Zelensky says a meeting between the two men is needed to hash out the key issues of a peace deal.
“Unfortunately, the Russian side is choosing war again -- everyone heard today´s response. A weak response. He simply doesn´t want to end the war,” he said after Putin rejected the call to meet.
His proposal had won support from key allies, including US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Zelensky is set to meet Macron, Britain´s Keir Starmer and Germany´s Friedrich Merz in London on Sunday in a bid to inject fresh momentum into efforts to end the war. Putin said the conflict would only stop when Russia´s goals are met.
“Military actions will end some day, we assume. Without a doubt, they will end once we have achieved the goals we have set for ourselves,” Putin told the audience of business leaders and visiting dignitaries from Russia´s allies. The ex-KGB spy also rejected claims that the Russian economy was falling apart under the high costs of the war.
The Kremlin´s offensive against Ukraine has put Russia´s finances under immense strain, with rising prices, tax hikes and two-decade-high borrowing costs hitting many citizens hard.
