VLADIMIR Putin has invited Volodymyr Zelensky for face-to-face peace talks – if the Ukrainian war leader is prepared to come to Moscow.
The Russian despot announced the invitation during a press conference in Beijing at the end of his visit to China.
Putin was in China this week to attend a massive military paradeAP
AFPVladimir Putin speaks at the end of his visit to China[/caption]
Putin said he believed the war in Ukraine could be ended with a deal – and that there was “light at the end of the tunnel”.
But in a chilling threat, the tyrant warned that the conflict would be “resolved” militarily if not.
It is not the first time Putin has floated the prospect of holding further talks in the Russian capital.
He had previously suggested Moscow as the next destination for a summit during a call with Donald Trump last month.
Speaking in China today, Putin said: “As for a meeting with Zelensky I have never ruled out the possibility of such a meeting.
“But is there any point? Let’s see.”
The Russian dictator said he wants to see Ukraine end martial law, hold elections and put forward a referendum on territory for there to be progress.
Talks to end the war in Ukraine have so far shown few results, and many analysts are unconvinced that Putin really wants a peace deal.
A much-hyped summit with Donald Trump in Alaska last month ended with no agreement being reached.
Putin was in China this week to attend a massive military parade put on by Beijing’s own despot Xi Jinping.
The Russian tyrant also stood alongside North Korea’s villainous leader Kim Jong Un – who has provided troops and weaponry to fuel Putin’s bloody invasion of Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelensky has blasted the Russian warmonger’s cosy welcome in China.
He said: “Putin is showing his impunity. And this undoubtedly requires a response from the world.
“It is only due to the lack of sufficient pressure, primarily on Russia‘s war economy, that this aggression continues.”
It comes as Russia continues to pound Ukrainian cities with vicious strikes while attempting to further seize the country’s territory.
In late 2022, Moscow held sham referendums as a pretext to annex four regions of eastern and southern Ukraine.
Russia has repeatedly demanded recognition of occupied land as a precondition for peace – which is unacceptable to Kyiv.
Donald Trump vowed last year to bring the Ukraine war to an end within 24 hours of assuming office.
The US President has attempted to arrange a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, but the terms of such a summit has yet to be agreed – leading some analysts to doubt whether it will happen.
Director of Chatham House’s Russia and Eurasia program Orysia Lutsevich previously told CNN that Putin would “have to accept the failure of sitting down with a President he considers a joke from a country that doesn’t exist”.
The Russian and Ukrainian leaders have only met once before in person.
Both attended a summit in France in 2019, at which the pair famously did not shake hands.
Within three years, Russia would launch the bloodiest war in Europe since 1945.
AlamyUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a site where missiles struck an apartment building[/caption]
ReutersRussian President Vladimir Putin arrives for the press conference[/caption]
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