In an interview with German broadcaster ARD, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is ready to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to achieve peace, but argued the only way to stop the war in Ukraine is to force Russians to end it,
Asked whether he had a message for Russians, he said he had nothing new to tell citizens of the Russian Federation because his words no longer influence them.
“At least they don’t want to take action. They have handed over all their voices, their rights, their bodies entirely for the use of one person — Putin. So I have no message for Russians, and my message to Putin is very simple: I am ready to meet. We have to end the war. Period,” Zelensky said.
He added that the only way to end the war is to compel Russians to stop it.
“I know that Putin and Russia do not want the end of this war. I think many people in Russia… they want to continue the war, and thus encourage Putin. In addition, I think the defense industry motivates Putin to continue, since a lot of money is allocated for defense,” Zelensky said.
He said U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping could push the Russian leader toward a peace deal through economic and technological pressure.
“Even if Putin doesn’t want to, I’m sure these two people can make him do it,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky stressed that any peace must rest on terms acceptable to Ukrainian society, with partners providing reliable security guarantees.
On January 27, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said Zelensky is ready to meet Putin to discuss temporarily occupied territories and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
On January 30, Zelensky called proposals for a meeting in Moscow categorically unacceptable and invited Putin to Kyiv. Despite that, on February 2, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov again invited Zelensky to Moscow during a briefing.
In a phone interview with Axios on February 17, Zelensky said he wanted to meet Putin in Geneva - but the Kremlin ignored the proposal.
