Putin rejects Zelensky’s proposal for direct talks at SPIEF

Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected Vladimir Zelensky’s proposal for face-to-face negotiations to end the war at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, saying Moscow seeks a comprehensive settlement rather than a temporary ceasefire.

Putin also dismissed Zelensky’s proposal for a full ceasefire during the period of negotiations. Speaking before international journalists at SPIEF, the Russian president said:

“Of course, the Ukrainian side would like us to pause the advance of Russian troops. But it would be better to end the war by agreeing on the compromises that were discussed in Anchorage,” Putin said.

Putin’s response was prompted by an open letter from Zelensky published on the Ukrainian president’s official website on Thursday — the first such public address between the two leaders since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. In the letter, Zelensky called for direct dialogue to end the more than four-year-long war.

As a venue for the meeting, Zelensky proposed neutral countries — Switzerland, Turkey, or one of the Arab states. He also put forward an initiative for a full ceasefire during negotiations and an all-for-all prisoner exchange, calling it “a good prologue to ending the war.” In Zelensky’s view, freezing the conflict is the fastest path to peace with Russia.

The letter is written in a defiant tone. Zelensky directly challenged Putin:

“Whatever you say about NATO, geopolitics, or the Russian language — this war is your personal choice, a war without a real reason.”

According to The New York Times, Zelensky also mocked Putin by pointing to military setbacks, rising inflation, and Russia’s growing dependence on China. In the letter, the Ukrainian president warned: “We will not simply die in silence, we will fight back. We will be strong and will grow stronger with each passing day.”

On Tuesday, ahead of the letter’s publication, Zelensky said that recent Ukrainian strikes deep into Russian territory allow Kyiv to “negotiate an end to the war on equal terms.” On the morning of the day SPIEF opened, a Ukrainian drone set fire to an oil terminal in St. Petersburg.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Putin had not yet seen the letter, and reiterated Moscow’s unchanged position: Zelensky “can come to Moscow” for talks — a proposal Zelensky has unequivocally rejected. Putin last month allowed for the possibility of a meeting in a third country, but only on the condition that an agreement was ready to be signed.

In Washington, President Donald Trump called a possible meeting between Putin and Zelensky “wonderful,” even as U.S.-mediated peace talks remain on hold. Zelensky acknowledged in his letter that it was “wrong to simply wait” for the war to become a priority for the United States again while Washington is focused on the conflict with Iran.