Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday he was willing to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on the sidelines of the G20 summit scheduled to be held in the United States in December, but the Kremlin quickly rejected the possibility of holding such a meeting outside Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking from New Delhi, said a meeting between the two presidents at the summit was “impossible,” while stressing that Moscow was ready to host the talks in the Russian capital.
Asked about the possibility of holding the meeting elsewhere, Peskov said: “There is readiness to meet him in Moscow.”
Zelenskyy’s comments came as Washington steps up efforts to revive diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war, following stalled rounds of negotiations and escalating attacks between Moscow and Kyiv.
In an interview with Deutsche Welle, Zelenskyy said he was prepared to meet Putin if both presidents attended the G20 summit, adding: “We have to meet, talk and make decisions,” while stressing that achieving a result was the most important objective.
The Kremlin has not yet decided whether Putin will attend the summit. Peskov told TASS: “We do not yet know whether we will go to Miami.”
The United States is seeking to restart negotiations through its envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who visited Moscow and Kyiv last week and met with Putin and Zelenskyy. US President Donald Trump also discussed developments in the war with Putin during a phone call last week.
Zelenskyy said the US envoys’ visit to Kyiv was important, arguing that his country was now in a “good position for negotiations.” Kyiv has said a new round of talks could take place in September.
The Kremlin, however, said it was too early to discuss the timing or location of the next round amid continued disagreements between Moscow and Kyiv.
On the battlefield, Russia and Ukraine continued exchanging long-range strikes, with deaths and injuries reported in attacks targeting several areas of Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities said seven people were killed and around 60 others injured in Russian strikes overnight from Friday into Saturday, while Zelenskyy reported dozens of people wounded in attacks on Odesa.
Ukraine is also preparing for winter amid concerns that Russian strikes could target energy infrastructure. Zelenskyy renewed his call on allies to provide his country with more air-defense missiles.
He said Russia produces around 140 ballistic missiles a month, arguing that securing a sufficient number of interceptor missiles remains a major challenge for Ukraine and its allies.
Source: (AFP)
