Published On 5 Jun 2026
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has turned down an offer for in-person talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he sees no point in such a meeting for now.
Putin delivered the remarks during Russia’s flagship economic forum in St Petersburg on Friday, a day after Zelenskyy shared an open letter appealing for a face-to-face meeting in which the two leaders could hash out an end to the war.
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Zelenskyy responded later on Friday, saying Putin’s rejection of his proposal showed that the Kremlin had no wish to end the war.
“Unfortunately, the Russian side is once again choosing war – everyone hear the response. A weak response,” the Ukrainian president said in his nightly video address. “I think this response will have disappointed many in the world.”
Putin had said Zelenskyy’s letter, which urged the Russian leader to “not be afraid to take the path out of this war”, was rude in parts and did not strike him as sincere.
“This letter contains some rather rude remarks. Was it a way to create the conditions for a face-to-face meeting or a way not to set up a face-to-face meeting? I think it was the second,” said Putin.
Asked whether he would meet the Ukrainian leader, Putin said, “I don’t see any point for now.”
“It only makes sense for the Ukrainian side to stop the advance of our armed forces. That’s it,” continued Putin. “And we need agreements … Let the experts work, develop some solutions, and then we can meet.”
Talks to end the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, have largely stalled due to Russia’s insistence on retaining territory it has seized, which Kyiv has refused to cede.
Mediation efforts have taken a further hit as the United States, which has held years of peace talks, shifts its attention toward the war in Iran.
In his open letter, Zelenskyy acknowledged the US’s shifting foreign policy priorities, saying it would be wrong to simply wait for Washington to re-engage.
Putin says war to continue until ‘goals achieved’
Putin has previously offered for Zelenskyy to come to Moscow for talks, an offer that the Ukrainian leader pointedly rejected. Putin has said he is open to meeting in a third country, but only when there is a deal to sign.
In his remarks on Friday, Putin reiterated his position that the conflict would only stop when Russia’s goals are met.
“Military actions will end someday, we assume. Without a doubt, they will end once we have achieved the goals we have set for ourselves,” he said.
Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from St Petersburg on Friday, said, “We understand that Russia will continue to fight on the battlefield and Vladimir Putin is not willing to finish this war, at least for this moment.”
The Russian leader also rejected claims that the country’s economy was falling apart under the high costs of the war.
The Kremlin’s offensive against Ukraine has put Russia’s finances under immense strain, with rising prices, tax hikes and two-decade-high borrowing costs hitting many citizens hard.
The Russian economy shrank by 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2026, its first quarterly slump in three years, as strain from the war and Western sanctions mounts.
“We, of course, hear criticism from all sides that everything has collapsed,” Putin said.
“We have descended to the same level at which eurozone countries have been living through for the past few years,” he added, noting that Russia was pursuing a “sovereign” economy.
