Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that he was ready to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky if he came to Moscow. At the same time, however, he expressed doubts as to whether such a meeting would make any sense at all.
Putin, speaking at the end of his visit to China, said he had never opposed a meeting with Zelensky. However, he reiterated the Kremlin's traditional position that such a summit must be carefully prepared in advance and must produce concrete results.
“I have never ruled out a meeting with Zelensky. But does it make sense at all? We'll see,” Putin said.
He explained that, in his opinion, Ukraine should lift martial law, hold elections, and conduct a referendum on territorial issues if progress is to be made.
He also expressed satisfaction with the work of his plenipotentiary Vladimir Medinsky in the negotiations with Ukraine. “We should propose raising the level of representatives,” he confirmed.
Regarding the work of Donald Trump's special representative, Steve Witkoff, he said it was not his job to evaluate it. At the same time, he denied a possible visit by the White House chief to Moscow.
Putin also stated that “every country can choose its own security guarantees,” including Ukraine and Russia. He repeatedly emphasized that he was against Ukraine joining NATO and stressed that he was not fighting for territory, but for “the rights of the people.”
Regarding the statements made by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who called Putin a war criminal, he noted that this was an “unsuccessful attempt to evade responsibility for the tragedy in Ukraine.”
