Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he currently sees no point in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, responding to his earlier open letter, reported AP.
Speaking at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Putin said that previous direct meetings had not brought concrete results.
“So far experience shows that such meetings serve to buy time. We need agreements, not meetings,” Putin said.
Contentious intent of the letter
He added that he read the Ukrainian president’s letter only after the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, pointed it out to him.
Putin assessed that the letter contained elements of rudeness and questioned its true intent.
“What is it? An attempt to organize a meeting or create conditions in which it becomes impossible?” asked the Russian president.
About his age and the elections in Ukraine
Referring to the allegations in the letter regarding his age, Putin rejected them.
“The author of the letter mentions my age. There are people older than me who are still performing their duties. Efficiency and health are the most important,” he said.
Putin reiterated Moscow’s position that elections should be held in Ukraine, stating that Zelensky’s term expired in May 2024, and the elections were postponed due to the state of war.
“I agree that elections should be held. The usurpation of power is a crime, there is no need to fear elections,” Putin said.
Peace guarantees and a message to Trump
The Russian president also questioned Kiev’s refusal to accept possible international guarantees as part of a future peace settlement.
“I don’t understand why they don’t want the United States as a guarantor. They want American weapons, but they don’t want the United States as a guarantor,” he said.
At the end, he referred to the US President Donald Trump, to whom, as he said, he is grateful, noting that there is still work to be done.
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