Kremlin on Zelenskyy’s letter to Putin: "If he wants meeting, let him come to Moscow"
The Kremlin has responded to an open letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which he proposed a full ceasefire and a direct meeting on neutral territory.
Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said this, Russian state propaganda media quoted him as saying, Censor.NET reports.
Kremlin’s response
Peskov said the Russian dictator would be informed about Zelenskyy’s letter later:
"Yes, we have seen it. He [Zelenskyy] published it during an event attended by the president. The president has not yet had an opportunity to read it. I have had an opportunity to do so. It will be reported to the president after the part of the working visit by the president of Uzbekistan is over."
At the same time, the Kremlin rejected the idea of a summit in third countries, once again demanding that the Ukrainian leader come to the Russian capital.
"Zelenskyy can come to Moscow at any moment. President Putin said that if Zelenskyy wants to talk, he can come to Moscow and do so," Peskov added.
Background
- On 4 June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy published an open letter to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, in which he proposed a meeting.
- In the letter, Zelenskyy proposed ending the war "in a format between us and you" and setting a clear date for the meeting. Among the countries that could host such a meeting, the head of state named Switzerland, Turkey and countries of the Arab world.
- Ukraine is ready to fully cease fire for the duration of the negotiations, and the United States could provide monitoring.
- The Ukrainian president believes that a full exchange of prisoners of war under the all-for-all principle could be a good prologue to ending the war. Zelenskyy also stressed steps to return civilians and children who were taken away during the war.
