'He can come to Kyiv' — Zelensky mocks Putin's Moscow invitation
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sept. 5 again dismissed a proposal to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, suggesting the Russian leader should come to Ukraine instead.
"He can come to Kyiv," Zelensky said in an interview with ABC News, laughing and shaking his head after being asked about the Moscow invitation.
"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."
Despite repeatedly avoiding an in-person meeting, Putin claimed on Sept. 3 that he has "never ruled out" direct talks with the Ukrainian president, adding, "If Zelensky is ready, let him come to Moscow."
The meeting between the two leaders would be a crucial step toward negotiating an end to the full-scale war in Ukraine, now ongoing for three and a half years.
Following talks with Putin in Alaska on Aug. 15, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was working to facilitate a potential meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders. The Kremlin has denied that any such agreement was reached.
According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, a bilateral summit between Putin and Zelensky is "not ready at all," despite Trump's statements. Talking to U.S. media in August, Lavrov repeated Russian propaganda narratives that Zelensky is not a legitimate leader, a justification often used by the Kremlin to dodge the meeting.
Zelensky has previously voiced readiness to meet Putin on neutral ground, including during Russian-Ukrainian peace talks in Istanbul earlier this year — a proposal rejected by Moscow.
Despite international efforts to negotiate an end to the war, Moscow has refused calls for a ceasefire and continued to push maximalist demands, namely, a ban on Ukraine joining NATO and control over the entire Donetsk Oblast, including areas not controlled by Russian forces.
Simultaneously, Russia has ramped up aerial attacks against Ukrainian cities and continued ground offensive operations in Ukraine's east.
