Zelenskyy Wants Putin To Come To Kiev For Summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Vladimir Putin’s invitation for peace talks in Moscow Friday, countering that the Russian president should travel to Kyiv if he wants to meet.

Zelensky responded to Putin’s invitation with his own proposal. “He can come to Kyiv, ” said Zelensky in an interview with ABC News Friday evening. “I can’t go to Moscow when my country’s under missiles, under attack, each day. I can’t go to the capital of this terrorist,” the Ukrainian leader said.

The exchange follows Putin’s Wednesday proposal for Zelensky to visit Moscow for discussions, which the Russian leader framed as a response to President Trump’s efforts to broker peace in the three-year conflict. Putin told reporters he never refused such a meeting, adding, “Let him come to Moscow.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Putin’s Moscow invitation: “He can come to Kyiv” https://t.co/2ubxSBlfiP

— The Hill (@thehill) September 6, 2025

Zelenskyy characterized Putin’s offer as a stalling tactic meant to “postpone the meeting” while maintaining he remains open to talks in “any kind of format.” He accused the Russian president of “playing games” with the United States, the outlet reported.

“If a person doesn’t want to meet during the war, of course, he can propose something which can’t be acceptable by me or by others,” Zelensky said.

Trump has pushed both leaders toward direct negotiations after meeting with them separately last month. The president recently tempered expectations, suggesting “maybe they have to fight a little longer” before bilateral talks but expressed greater confidence in a three-way meeting including himself.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz shared the skepticism last week, saying it was “clear” that a Putin-Zelensky meeting would not materialize.

Russian officials have signaled that substantive peace negotiations remain distant, with Putin questioning whether a summit would produce “positive outcomes” while continuing military operations against Ukraine.