Zelenskyy invites Putin to direct meeting and urges end to war in open letter

Zelenskyy proposes ending the war “through direct engagement between us — and you” and called for setting a clear date for a meeting. He said such a meeting could be hosted by Switzerland, Türkiye or a country in the Arab world.

“It is leaders who resolve the key issues. That has always been the case, and it always will be. I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting,” Zelenskyy wrote.

He added that Europe and the United States should be involved in the process because “Ukraine needs security guarantees, while you also seek security guarantees for yourself.”

While the negotiations are underway, Ukraine is ready to fully cease fire, Zelenskyy wrote, adding that the United States could provide monitoring.

“An attempt to establish real silence is the best way to begin talking to one another. We believe it would not simply be an attempt, but a real ceasefire — if that is what you want,” the president wrote.

Zelenskyy added: “The front line today is the line from which diplomacy must begin.”

A prisoner exchange on an “all for all” basis could be a good prologue to ending the war, he said. Zelenskyy also stressed the need for steps to return civilians and children taken away during the war.

“The choice is yours now. Enough of war. Ukraine proposes to end this war,” he wrote.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the letter would be sent to Putin through diplomatic channels and that Ukraine would await “a substantive response to this proposal.”

More than half an hour after the letter was published, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin had seen the message and that Putin would be briefed on it later.

Background

At the beginning of March, Zelenskyy said that because of hostilities in the Middle East, Ukraine had stopped receiving signals about negotiations to end the war in a trilateral format. He also said: “As soon as the security situation and the overall political context allow that trilateral diplomatic work to continue, it will be done. Ukraine is ready for this.”

Russian authorities also commented on possible talks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the trilateral group — Ukraine, the United States and Russia — was currently “on pause.” Still, he said, the sides would continue contacting one another on prisoner exchanges.

At the end of May, Zelenskyy told members of the Servant of the People faction about prospects for ending the active phase of the war. MP Olha Vasylevska-Smahliuk, who was one of the participants in the meeting, relayed the president’s remarks: the possibility of ending the “hot phase” of the war by November is being considered, provided that security guarantees are provided.