(Dan Tri) - The Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to negotiate with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky after 3 years of conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Photo: Getty).
"President Putin has repeatedly said that if necessary, he will negotiate with President Zelensky," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters today, February 18.
Mr. Peskov emphasized that Russia is always ready to negotiate a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukraine, the European Union (EU) and the administration of former US President Joe Biden are not ready.
“The most important thing for us is to achieve our goals. And of course, we want peaceful means to achieve them,” Peskov added.
It is still unclear when Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump can meet face to face, according to a Kremlin spokesman.
"Perhaps some estimates will be made based on the results of today's talks," Mr. Peskov said.
Mr. Peskov also affirmed that Ukraine has the right to become a member of the EU as a sovereign state.
The Kremlin spokesman's remarks came as top Russian and US diplomats met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to seek ways to restore diplomatic ties, prepare for a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump, and pave the way for a resolution to the Ukraine conflict.
The Russian delegation was led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Other officials on the Russian delegation included Yury Ushakov, President Putin's top foreign policy aide, and Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).
The US delegation includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and Steve Witkoff, special envoy for the Middle East.
Neither Ukraine nor the EU were represented at the talks. President Zelensky said he would not recognise any agreement without Kiev’s direct participation.
President Zelensky issued a decree in 2022 that banned negotiations with President Putin. Moscow has repeatedly asked Kiev to rescind this decree before starting the negotiation process.
However, earlier this month, the Ukrainian leader appeared to have changed his mind, telling British journalist Piers Morgan that he would meet Putin if it was “the only way to bring peace to the Ukrainian people.”
On February 14, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Mr. Zelensky continued to declare that he would only meet with one Russian official for negotiations, that is President Putin. Mr. Zelensky ruled out any form of negotiation with the participation of other Russian representatives.
In a post on the social network Truth Social on February 12, immediately after the phone call with President Putin, President Trump wrote that President Zelensky wanted to "make peace".
Last June, Mr Putin outlined a number of conditions for ending the conflict with Ukraine, including Kiev's commitment to neutrality and recognition of territories annexed by Russia. However, Ukraine appears to have no intention of abandoning its ambitions to join NATO.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/tong-thong-putin-san-sang-dam-phan-voi-tong-thong-zelensky-20250218181312689.htm
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