Putin rejects Zelensky's open-letter meeting request, says 'no point' until Russia's war goals are met

The open letter and the rejection

Volodymyr Zelensky published an open letter on Thursday proposing a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin in a third country such as Switzerland or Turkey. The Ukrainian president wrote that it was "wrong to simply wait" for the war to regain Washington's attention and urged Putin to "not be afraid to take the path out of this war." The letter also drew attention to recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory, including a drone attack on St Petersburg's oil terminal on Wednesday, and noted that "after 26 years in power, age is beginning to take its toll" on Putin.

Speaking at Russia's annual economic forum in St Petersburg on Friday, Putin called the letter "rude" and refused to use Zelensky's name, referring to him only as its author. "Was it a way to create the conditions for a face-to-face meeting or a way not to set up a face-to-face meeting? I think it was the second," Putin said. Asked whether he would meet the Ukrainian leader, he replied: "I don't see any point for now."

The only point is for the Ukrainian side to halt the advance of our armed forces. But we need agreements — not for six months, not for three months, but for the long term.

Zelensky's response

Zelensky responded in his nightly video address on Friday, saying Putin's rejection showed the Kremlin had no wish to end the conflict. "Unfortunately, the Russian side is once again choosing war. Everyone heard the response. A weak response," he said. "I think this response will have disappointed many in the world."

The Ukrainian president had struck a defiant, at-times mocking tone in his letter, encouraged by recent Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory. He wrote that Putin had spent "almost half of your 26 years in power in a war against Ukraine. A war without a real reason."

Russia's unchanged war aims

Putin restated that military actions would end only when Russia's goals had been met. "Military actions will end some day, we assume. Without a doubt, they will end once we have achieved the goals we have set for ourselves," he said. Those goals, outlined in a June 2024 foreign ministry speech, include the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions and Kyiv's abandonment of Nato membership ambitions.

Putin claimed Russia controlled all of Luhansk oblast (a claim Kyiv denies) and more than 85 percent of Donetsk oblast. He repeated his demand that Ukraine also give up all of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Addressing Russian troops, he said: "Keep working brothers."

European diplomatic push

France, Germany and the United Kingdom are preparing a fresh diplomatic initiative. The leaders of the E3 — Keir Starmer, Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron — are scheduled to meet in London on Sunday, with Zelensky also expected to attend. Macron said it was "time to look to the future and reorganise a dialogue to build the ceasefire and peace." Merz welcomed Zelensky's "proposal for dialogue" but added: "What is missing is Vladimir Putin's willingness."

On the European side there is no lack of willingness to talk. What is missing is Vladimir Putin's willingness.

US aid and shifting attention

While Donald Trump's mediation efforts remain stalled — with US attention diverted to the conflict in the Persian Gulf — the House of Representatives approved a bipartisan measure to provide up to $8 billion in new aid to Ukraine and impose sanctions on Russia's energy and finance sectors. The move contrasts with the president's approach. Zelensky's letter acknowledged the shifting US foreign policy priorities, saying it would be wrong to simply wait for Washington to re-engage.

Prisoner exchange and battlefield developments

Amid the diplomatic back-and-forth, Russia and Ukraine completed a prisoner swap, with 185 soldiers from each side returning home. Meanwhile, Ukraine's unmanned systems forces continued strikes on strategic targets. Ukrainian drones hit five Russian cargo ships in the occupied ports of Mariupol and Berdiansk and in the Sea of Azov overnight on Thursday. Putin acknowledged Russia needed to strengthen its air defences but played down the impact of Ukraine's campaign. Ukraine's navy also admitted that a drone that exploded in the Romanian port of Constanța on the Black Sea was one of its own, saying it had been diverted by Russian electronic warfare and went out of control.