Putin says he is willing to meet with Zelensky if he comes to Moscow.

BarcelonaRussian President Vladimir Putin said he is willing to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky if the Ukrainian leader travels to Moscow. "If Zelensky is ready, let him come to Moscow and this meeting will take place," he said at a press conference in Beijing, where he attended the large-scale military parade celebrating the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender and the end of World War II in Asia.

In any case, Putin has made it clear that he is not particularly interested in holding a meeting with the Ukrainian president. "As for a meeting with Zelensky, I have never ruled out the possibility of such a meeting. But does it make any sense? We'll see," he said, stressing that it must be "well prepared." He also repeated the message that he believes Zelensky lacks legitimacy because he should have called elections, despite martial law preventing him from doing so.

"If common sense prevails, an acceptable agreement can be reached to end the conflict in Ukraine," said Putin, who asserted that he sees "some light at the end of the tunnel" thanks to the diplomatic efforts of the United States. However, he added: "If not, we will have to resolve it militarily." According to the Kremlin chief, Russian forces are advancing on all fronts in Ukraine and the Ukrainian defense is not capable of carrying out a large-scale offensive.

From Ukraine, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha‎ has called Putin's proposal "unacceptable." He said that there are "at least seven countries that are willing to host" a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, and cited Austria, the Vatican, Switzerland, Turkey and three Gulf countries. He assured that they are "serious" options and assured that Zelensky is willing to hold the meeting at any time in any of these places. "Despite this, Putin continues to entangle everyone by making proposals that he knows are unacceptable," he lamented in a post on X.

Possible Trump trip to Russia

The possibility of a meeting between Putin and Zelensky It has been posed since the meeting in Alaska between the Russian president and his US counterpart, Donald Trump. At the time, Trump said it could happen imminently, in the next two weeks, but the Kremlin is dragging its feet.

Putin also referred on Wednesday to a possible official trip by Trump to Russia. He said that the Kremlin's invitation is "on the table" but that no preparations have been made yet. Putin made the invitation when he met with Trump and ended their joint appearance by saying, in English: "Next time, in Moscow."