Putin obviously has his own opinion about where the Russia-Ukraine summit will be held, but as soon as he spoke, Zelenskyy decisively rejected it.

On the 19th, AFP and the American "Politico" website reported that sources revealed during a meeting between the U.S., EU, and Ukraine on the 18th, Trump called Putin and Putin proposed holding the Russia-Ukraine summit in Moscow.

Subsequently, Trump relayed Putin's proposal to Zelenskyy, but Zelenskyy rejected it, stating that he would not go to Moscow to meet with Putin. In addition, European leaders present also considered this not a "serious proposal," immediately refuted it, and announced they would ignore it.

Zelenskyy dares not go to Moscow even if Putin invites him

However, it should be noted that the above report is only the one-sided account of French and American media. So far, the Kremlin has not confirmed that Putin proposed holding a Russia-Ukraine presidential summit in Moscow.

So, how should we view the reports from American and French media?

Firstly, even if the reports from American and French media are true, Zelenskyy is unlikely to go to Moscow to meet with Putin, but the reason has nothing to do with the Western media's claim that "the Kremlin has tried to assassinate Zelenskyy multiple times."

After all, after three years of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, if Russia really wanted to assassinate Zelenskyy, there have been plenty of opportunities to carry out a precise strike on the Kyiv presidential palace. There was no need to "lure" Zelenskyy to Moscow before acting.

In fact, the real reason why Zelenskyy would not go to Moscow is that such an action would equate to publicly surrendering to Russia on the diplomatic and public opinion levels, symbolically acknowledging that the Kremlin has the right to set the rules of the game.

Zelenskyy dares to go to Moscow? Unless he doesn't want to be the president of Ukraine anymore

It should be noted that Zelenskyy's presidential term has already expired. The reason he is still staying in the presidential seat and repeatedly delaying the election is because of his status as a wartime leader and the support of extreme nationalist groups in Ukraine. These groups strongly hate Russia and refuse to make any concessions on the negotiation issue, not even symbolic ones.

Therefore, under the influence of these extreme nationalist groups, unless Zelenskyy is willing to give up power, he will not accept Putin's invitation.

Secondly, regarding the "Putin proposed meeting Zelenskyy in Moscow," some Russian media believe that this is a move by French media to promote the idea of holding a Russia-Ukraine summit in Switzerland proposed by Macron.

But just as Zelenskyy would not go to Moscow, even if Switzerland has promised not to arrest Putin based on the International Criminal Court's "arrest warrant," Putin would not go to Europe to meet Zelenskyy either.

Of course, Putin may just be joking

In fact, when responding to the U.S.-EU-Ukraine trilateral meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov clearly pointed out the conditions for holding a Russia-Ukraine summit: any contact involving high-level officials must be carefully prepared.

This means that Putin could meet with Zelenskyy, but before that, officials from both sides must reach consensus on peace agreements, ceasefire, and territorial issues. Only when the level of contact gradually increases and negotiations begin to show progress can the meeting between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine eventually take place.

Otherwise, a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy would be meaningless, just like the U.S.-Russia presidential summit that Trump strongly advocated. This summit did not result in any substantive consensus between Trump and Putin, except for giving Trump a chance to win the Nobel Peace Prize and achieving a thaw in U.S.-Russia relations.

In fact, Trump and Putin, Zelenskyy achieved nothing

This is also the dilemma that Trump faces in mediating the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Although on the surface, Trump successfully held the U.S.-Russia and U.S.-EU-Ukraine meetings, and played the role of a "messenger" and "mediator" between Putin and Zelenskyy, he will also prepare for the Russia-Ukraine and U.S.-Russia-Ukraine meetings in the future.

But as long as we have paid attention to the results of the U.S.-Russia and U.S.-EU-Ukraine meetings, we can see that Trump has actually solved no problems. He just keeps postponing specific issues such as ceasefire, peace agreements, and territory to the possible Russia-Ukraine and U.S.-Russia-Ukraine meetings.

It can be said that Trump's approach to solving problems has never changed, always transferring topics and dragging things out endlessly.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7540508416557548078/

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