Kremlin Responds: ‘If Zelensky Wants to Meet, He Can Come to Moscow”

The Kremlin brushed off President Volodymyr Zelensky’s open letter to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, calling for a direct meeting to end Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

Zelensky’s letter, published late on Thursday, came amid Putin’s meeting with senior editors of major news agencies in the Constantine Palace during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

According to a Telegram post reporting the meeting live, the Kremlin responded: “If Zelensky wants to meet with Putin, he can come to Moscow.”

The dismissive tone was echoed in Putin’s broader remarks about the West and Ukraine.

“They are simply not willing to talk to Russia as an equal partner,” he said, “but they will have to do that. We are in no hurry.”

The message signaled that neither Western pressure nor Ukrainian proposals would accelerate any settlement on terms Moscow dislikes. 

To back up his point about timing, Putin added: “Even if you put nine pregnant women together, nine women cannot give birth to a child in one month,” suggesting that no external effort can force Russia into what it considers premature concessions.

Zelensky’s letter, by contrast, framed Russia as slowly losing ground – not only militarily, but economically and politically – citing 30,000 soldier casualties, as well as growing fatigue among the Russian society.

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Zelensky Issues Open Letter to Putin: ‘Enough War – Let’s Meet to End It’

President Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly addressed Russia’s leader, arguing that 26 years of Putin’s rule have turned bilateral relations into a ledger of strikes and losses, highlighting Russia’s mounting casualties and economic strain. He offered a path to end the war through a bilateral summit hosted by a neutral state, along with fully swapping prisoners and broader security guarantees from Europe and the US.

“Whatever you say about NATO, geopolitics, or the Russian language, this war is your personal choice – a war without a real cause,” Zelensky said. “That is how history will remember it.”

While Kyiv offered a ceasefire along the current front line, a full prisoner exchange and talks with international security guarantees on neutral ground, Moscow’s response has so far not yielded any result.

According to AFP, US President Donald Trump said Thursday it would be “great” for Zelensky to meet Putin after the Ukrainian president proposed face-to-face talks, but said both sides had to make compromises.

“I’m glad that they’re maybe talking about meeting. I think we had a lot to do with it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I think it would be great if they met. They should, get it done.”