Putin-Zelensky meeting possible after 'specific agreements,' Russia says
A meeting between Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin is "fundamentally possible," but must be based upon "specific agreements" between the two sides, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on May 28.
"Our position on the fundamental possibility of such a meeting has not changed," Peskov said, according to the Russian pro-state news agency Interfax.
"But such a meeting should be the result of specific agreements between the two delegations in various areas," he said when asked about the possibility of a meeting between Putin, Zelensky, and potentially U.S. President Donald Trump.
The comments come after Zelensky declared he is ready to meet the Russian leader in a three-way format with Trump to discuss peace efforts in Ukraine. The U.S. president has vowed to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow and supported the idea of a summit at the highest level.
"We are ready to meet at the level of leaders. The American side knows this, and the Russian side knows this. We are ready for the 'Trump, Putin, and me' format, and we are ready for the Trump-Putin, Trump-Zelensky format, and then the three of us," Zelensky said on May 27.
Moscow continues to reject calls by Kyiv and Western partners for a ceasefire, and has only intensified strikes against Ukrainian cities while reportedly preparing a new offensive this summer.
It is not immediately clear what agreements the Kremlin requires to arrange the meeting.
Ukraine's head of state previously invited Putin for face-to-face talks in Istanbul on May 16. Putin refused to attend himself, instead dispatching a delegation of junior aides led by Vladimir Medinsky.
The peace talks have not yielded any breakthrough apart from a major prisoner exchange.
The Kremlin has also repeatedly attacked Zelensky's legitimacy as president, pointing out that his first presidential term was originally meant to end on May 20, 2024.
Ukraine's constitution prohibits elections during martial law, which has been in effect since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022. As a result, Zelensky's term has been extended, which constitutional lawyers argue is permitted under Ukrainian law.
Zelensky and Putin met only once, during the Normandy Format talks in France in December 2019.
Read also: Ban on NATO's eastward expansion, easing sanctions — Reuters lists Putin's Ukraine peace demands
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