Russia Rejects Zelensky's 'G7 Peace Talks' Proposal: "Putin Has Not Been Invited"

"Will Be Welcomed If He Comes to Moscow"

Russia has dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's proposal to pursue peace negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of the Group of Seven (G7) summit.

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to Russia's state-run TASS news agency on the 16th (local time), Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said during a briefing that President Putin had not received an invitation to the G7 summit when asked about the possibility of his attendance. He added, "There are no official channels between Moscow and Kyiv."

The previous day, President Zelensky stated that the United States had agreed to push for a meeting between himself and President Putin on the sidelines of the G7 summit. He also said that, during a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on June 14, he proposed the idea of himself and President Putin meeting together in the United States.

Regarding this, spokesperson Peskov said, "President Putin has repeatedly emphasized that if Zelensky is ready to engage in a responsible and serious dialogue, he is welcome to come to Moscow at any time." In effect, he rejected President Zelensky's proposal to meet President Putin face-to-face in the United States or Europe.

Meanwhile, spokesperson Peskov said that key figures mediating the Ukraine peace negotiations, including U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, are scheduled to visit Russia soon.

Peskov noted, "The exact date has not yet been set," and anticipated that discussions on visits by envoy Witkoff and others to Russia would continue after the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on ending the war between the United States and Iran, scheduled for June 19 in Switzerland, is signed.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.