Kremlin says Putin will take Zelensky's call only if Kyiv starts it

Kremlin puts the first move on Kyiv

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, 30 October, that Vladimir Putin is ready for a phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky, but only if the initiative comes from Kyiv. Asked whether the Russian leader would take such a call, Peskov answered that it was possible under that condition. He added that no such call had taken place so far. The remarks came at a briefing and were carried by Russian state media, according to Rzeczpospolita.

Peskov summed up the situation in a few words:

“No one has called yet.”

The spokesman also named French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz as leaders who could call Putin, and said the Russian president would take their calls. Peskov described Putin as open to contacts with all foreign leaders.

“He is open to dialogue with everyone.”

Nordic calls and criticism from Denmark

On Tuesday, 27 October, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre spoke with Putin by phone. Peskov said the conversation lasted 90 minutes, which is the figure that brought the call into the Kremlin's account of the week. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticised the move and argued that such steps should be agreed jointly across the European Union. Wpolityce.pl read the calls as a sign of a return to pragmatism in European capitals, linking that reading to energy costs and inflation in Germany and France.

Moscow invitation and Kyiv's response

Earlier, Jurij Uszakow, an adviser to Putin, said Zelensky could travel to Moscow for a meeting with the Russian president and would be given suitable security arrangements. Andrij Sybiha, Ukraine's foreign minister, said such statements should not be taken seriously. He added that any future meeting could take place anywhere except Russia or Belarus. In September, Peskov had commented on a proposed bilateral Putin-Zelensky meeting at the G20 summit in Miami, saying Zelensky could fly to Moscow if he wanted to meet. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the invitation in similar terms.

“Inviting this person to Moscow is already a huge gesture of goodwill on our part.”

Open questions

Wpolityce.pl cited a Reuters report that Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's policy director, had urged politicians from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to soften their rhetoric about Russia. RMF24 reported that no date has been set for a phone call or a meeting between Putin and Zelensky. Peskov's position leaves the next move with Kyiv, while Ukraine's foreign minister has ruled out a meeting on Russian or Belarusian territory.