Putin: I repeat once again that Moscow is the venue for Zelenskyy meeting
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has made it clear that he does not intend to travel anywhere to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but is open to meeting in Moscow.
Source: Putin at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum on 5 September; Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency RBC, citing Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov
Quote from Putin: "The Ukrainian side wants this meeting and is proposing it. I said, 'I'm ready. Please come'. We will definitely provide the conditions for work and security. 100% guarantee."
Details: He called Ukraine's desire to meet in a third country an "excessive request".
Quote: "But if they say to us, 'We want to meet with you, but you have to go to such and such a place for this meeting', well, it seems to me that these are simply excessive demands on us. I repeat once again: if someone really wants to meet with us, we are ready. The best place for this is the capital of the Russian Federation – the hero city of Moscow."
More details: Earlier, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin leader had invited Zelenskyy to Moscow "for negotiations, not for capitulation".
He stressed that "it was Putin's proposal" and "Moscow saw" that Zelenskyy had rejected it.
Background:
- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described Putin's proposal to meet with Zelenskyy in Moscow as "unacceptable".
- Later, Zelenskyy stated that Putin is attempting to delay their meeting by issuing such an invitation. "Our American partners have informed us that Putin has invited me to Moscow. I believe that if you want to prevent the meeting from taking place, you should invite me to Moscow," the Ukrainian leader said.
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