On June 15, local time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he’s willing to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the United States, hinting that Putin might find this invitation “harder to refuse.”
Zelenskyy mentioned he floated this idea during a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump and is now waiting to see what happens. “On the 14th, we discussed with Trump the possibility of organizing such a meeting in the U.S. This setup would make it harder for Putin to turn down. Let’s see how things unfold. If Russia misses this chance again, there will be a need for extra pressure,” he said.
When talking about the G7 summit invitation, Zelenskyy noted that Russia “once again showed it’s not ready to discuss this issue.”
Earlier, Zelenskyy claimed that Putin ignored an invitation to meet at the G7 summit, which kicked off in France on the morning of June 15.
A source from the Ukrainian president’s office told reporters that this proposal “was passed along a while ago through intermediaries, diplomats, and intelligence channels. There hasn’t been a clear response yet.”
In early June, Putin responded to Zelenskyy’s call for face-to-face talks by saying he’s not interested in meeting at this stage.
He stressed that he sees no point in such a meeting. Ukraine wants a ceasefire, but only to slow down the Russian military advance. What Russia is after is a long-term peace deal, not one that lasts just three to five months. The first step should be for experts from both sides to hash out a plan. Only after that’s settled would there be a basis for a meeting and negotiations.
