Zelenskyy demands a meeting, Putin responds briefly: no.
As expected, Putin had no intention of meeting Zelenskyy.
On the 5th, Putin responded to Zelenskyy's public letter, stating he currently has no intention of holding a face-to-face meeting between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine.
The reason for Putin's refusal remains unchanged: if a top-level meeting between Russia and Ukraine is to take place, it must result in an agreement capable of fully ending the war and resolving the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis. However, from Moscow’s perspective, Kyiv currently shows no such willingness—Ukrainian intentions are merely to temporarily freeze the conflict.
This time, Putin stated he sees no point in holding such a meeting now; Zelenskyy’s call for a ceasefire is essentially aimed at halting Russian military advances.
In fact, Russia’s assessment isn’t entirely wrong. In his public letter, Zelenskyy also wrote that he requests a ceasefire along the current contact line, while largely sidestepping the Russian insistence on addressing issues “from the root”.
Thus, the current impasse between Russia and Ukraine is not only due to their inability to agree on negotiation terms, but also because they have failed to reach consensus on the very precondition for starting talks: Russia insists on first achieving a comprehensive solution to end the conflict before any symbolic leadership signing ceremony; Ukraine, meanwhile, demands a temporary ceasefire and freezing of the conflict, avoiding discussion of the underlying causes of the crisis altogether.
It is precisely for this reason that Putin believes meeting simply for the sake of meeting holds no value for him—it would only create a propaganda narrative suggesting Russia is forced to accommodate Ukraine, as if Moscow had already compromised.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1867228961443844/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of its author.