Vladimir Putin does not accept in a neutral country. The Russian president considers that a direct meeting between both leaders “it doesn’t make sense” and has ordered Russian troops to continue “working” on the front.
The response to the letter sent by Zelensky came hours later and in a media appearance during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
“I have never refusedbut meet, as they say, it’s beating around the bush; I know because I’ve been through this before. “I think there is a reference (in Zelensky’s letter) to the Minsk agreements,” he noted as an evasive response, emphasizing that he “does not see any sense” in the meeting. At least for now and despite the fact that Donald Trump had shown his support to the Ukrainian initiative.
As he has been doing for years, the post-Soviet leader considers that This route does not allow exploring what he calls the “historical roots” of the conflict.. “We need agreements not for six months, nor for three months, but a long-term historical perspective,” he argued.
In parallel with his ‘no’ to direct negotiation with Zelensky, he wanted to encourage the Russian army to “continue the work” started more than four years and three months ago. “Comrades soldiers and sailors, non-commissioned officers and officers, officers, admirals and generals: the whole country is looking at you, the whole country is proud of you and has hope,” he noted without further reference to the military situation.
Taking advantage of his intervention, Putin has allowed himself the luxury of ironizing the political situation in Ukraine, which still has not held elections for the country being under martial lawwhich makes it impossible to remove the ballot boxes.
Unaware of this and aware that Zelensky’s ordinary mandate expired in 2024, Putin has urged him to “go to the polls, not be afraid to go and always act within the framework of the law; why Exercising power outside the Constitution is called usurpation of powera criminal offense,” said a president.
At the end of 2025 and after insistent pressure from Trump, “in a period of 60 or 90 days“if the necessary security circumstances were met. However, nothing has changed in the context of war, with recurring Russian bombings on kyiv and other main points far from the front.
