Russia has confirmed its readiness to provide security to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky if he agrees to negotiations with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. This was stated by Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov in a conversation with journalist Pavel Zarubin.
“Our president has also pointed out several times that if Zelensky is genuinely interested in a meeting, we are ready to invite him to Moscow and guarantee safe conditions for the negotiations,” Ushakov noted.
According to him, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly raised the issue of a possible meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders during phone conversations with Putin.
“We have never refused such contacts and continue to do so. However, it is important that such meetings are thoroughly prepared. And secondly, that they yield concrete results,” Ushakov added.
The idea of a meeting between Putin and Zelensky began to be discussed as a result of trilateral negotiations involving the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine, which took place in Abu Dhabi on January 23-24. All three delegations gave positive assessments of the outcomes of the meeting. According to Axios, the parties are “very close to organizing a meeting between Putin and Zelensky.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga confirmed that Zelensky is ready to meet with the Russian leader to discuss territorial issues and the future of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. These topics remain the most relevant and unresolved within the framework of the peace process, he added.
In September 2025, Vladimir Putin expressed his readiness to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky and proposed to hold negotiations in Moscow. However, the Ukrainian leader noted that such a proposal indicates a lack of readiness on the Russian side for the meeting.
