Zelensky in open letter to Putin proposes face-to-face meeting and 'full ceasefire'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin in a rare open letter to the Russian leader Thursday, saying he was also ready for a "full ceasefire".
"Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us – and you. I am proposing a meeting," Zelensky said in the letter. "Ukraine is ready for a full ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations," he added.
Talks between Russia and Ukraine have been stalled for months, as US-led negotiations remain effectively frozen due to the Iran war.
Previous rounds of negotiation between the two sides in Istanbul, Abu Dhabi and Geneva failed to yield a breakthrough on the key issue of territory in a post-war settlement.
"Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us – and you. I am proposing a meeting," Zelensky said in the letter, which was published on the Ukrainian presidency's website.
"Ukraine is ready for a full ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations," he added.
Zelensky also proposed an all-for-all exchange of prisoners of war, saying this could be a "good prologue to ending the war".
There was no immediate comment from Putin, who was wrapping up a meeting with foreign journalists in Saint Petersburg when the letter was published.