He made his comments a day after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that 26 countries had pledged security guarantees to Ukraine for the post-war period, including international forces on land, at sea, and in the air.
Invitation to Moscow
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared his willingness to engage in peace negotiations and suggested Moscow as a suitable venue for a meeting. He also assured the safety of Volodymyr Zelensky and the representatives of Ukraine.
This is already the second official invitation to the Ukrainian president. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified that this is an invitation to talk and not to surrender.
Zelensky rejected the invitation at a joint press conference with Emmanuel Macron, but praised the positive signal that Putin was even discussing such a meeting.
In mid-August, Donald Trump had announced that he would allow two weeks to organize a direct meeting between the two heads of state. Recently, however, he stated that neither of them was currently willing to make peace. He promised to continue working toward a peace agreement and plans to speak with Putin by phone soon. The Kremlin confirmed today that there is currently no contact with Trump, but that a meeting could be arranged quickly.
Putin also said that Russia would respect existing agreements on Ukraine, but saw legal complications in some territorial issues. He confirmed that, in his opinion, Ukraine has the right to EU membership, but that NATO membership is unacceptable to Russia.
He also responded to China's decision to grant visa-free entry to Russian citizens with a reciprocal arrangement—Russia plans to simplify entry requirements starting September 15.
(reuters, est)
