Sergey Lavrov responds to Volodymyr Zelensky: “Let him come to Moscow” for a meeting with Vladimir Putin

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the invitation extended to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to come to Moscow for a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin as an “enormous gesture of goodwill.” The statement was made in the context of Zelensky’s proposal to meet Putin in the United States at the G20 summit in Miami, scheduled for December, if the Russian president attends.

Lavrov said that Russia remains open to negotiations with Ukraine, but specified that Moscow does not intend to stop the war during any potential talks. He also said that Zelensky has not revoked his decree banning contacts with Putin and his team.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said that Zelensky could come to Moscow if he genuinely wanted to meet Putin. Meanwhile, Russian presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov stated that Putin’s trip to the G20 summit had not yet been discussed.

Ukraine has repeatedly proposed a direct meeting between the two leaders in neutral territory for negotiations on ending the war launched by Russia. Moscow has consistently rejected this option and indicated Moscow as the only proposed location for a possible meeting.