President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine and several allied nations have repeatedly proposed holding talks with Russia at the head of state level in neutral countries such as Kazakhstan, while Putin rejects talks on even ground.
Speaking in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Zelensky said proposals for a summit meeting had been made not only by his administration but also by US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and other European leaders.
“Look, if you want to meet with me in Moscow, it’s just postponing the meeting,” Zelensky said.
“It would be the same as if I invited him to Kyiv. Our teams, Trump’s team, European leaders including Macron, and Turkey’s president – all of us proposed meetings in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Europe, even somewhere like Kazakhstan.”
Zelensky said Russia’s leadership has so far rejected all such proposals.
Putin pushes for Moscow talks “unacceptable” for Kyiv
Putin has suggested Zelensky come to Moscow for direct talks, most recently at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Sept. 5.
He pledged “a one hundred percent guarantee” of Zelensky’s safety, while casting doubt on whether any breakthrough could be reached.
“The best place for this is the capital of the Russian Federation, the Hero City of Moscow,” Putin said, rejecting the idea of talks in a third country.
Zelensky dismissed the invitation from the country that has plotted to assassinate him multiple times, saying it appeared designed to stall real negotiations. “If you want the meeting not to happen, you should invite me to Moscow,” he said.
Kyiv’s foreign minister earlier labeled the suggestion “unacceptable,” while noting that Ukraine is prepared for both bilateral and trilateral meetings if they occur at the head of state level.
Trump signals shift on Ukraine
The Fox News interview came as Trump signaled another shift in his public stance on Russia’s war in Ukraine on Tuesday, declaring that Ukraine “can win” and reclaim lost territory.
In a flurry of diplomatic meetings and a forceful social media post, Trump labeled Russia a “paper tiger,” a sharp departure from his earlier calls for Kyiv to consider territorial concessions.
The day’s events, which unfolded on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting, were highlighted by a bilateral meeting between Trump and Zelensky.
Following their private discussions, Trump praised his Ukrainian counterpart as a “brave man” who is “putting up one hell of a fight.”
“We have great respect for the fight that Ukraine is putting up,” Trump told reporters. “It’s pretty amazing, actually.” He also offered a blunt economic assessment of Moscow’s situation, saying the “Russian economy is terrible right now.”
When asked whether he could still trust Russian Putin, Trump told reporters he would let them know in “about a month.”