Putin has signaled readiness to host Ukrainian President Zelenski in Moscow for peace talks, as the Kremlin reiterates its openness to direct negotiations on key territorial and security issues.

The Kremlin reiterated on Wednesday, January 28, that President Vladimir Putin is prepared to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodimir Zelenski in Moscow, a possibility that was also raised in contacts with U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Our president has repeatedly told journalists that if Zelenski is ready for a meeting, we will be happy to welcome him in Moscow”, stated Russian presidential advisor Yuri Ushakov, who participated in the latest round of tripartite talks in the United Arab Emirates between Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S.

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“We have never rejected these contacts”, Ushakov maintained, insisting on the proposal for the Ukrainian leader to travel to Russia, although Zelenski has repeatedly rejected meeting on Russian soil.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrei Sibiga had announced that Zelenski is willing to meet with Putin to resolve “two of the most important issues within the framework of peace negotiations”: the territories and the future control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Putin and Zelenski have met only once since the latter became Ukrainian President. That meeting took place in December 2019 in Paris in the presence of the leaders of France and Germany. Zelenski rejected the invitation to travel to Moscow at the time and also did not view a possible meeting in Budapest favorably, due to his poor relations with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

On the European front, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that Ukraine’s accession to the European Union on January 1, 2027, is impossible, recalling that any candidate country must fulfill the Copenhagen criteria, a process that typically takes years.

Zelenski, for his part, reiterated his goal of joining in 2027, calling it “one of the main security guarantees, not only for us but for all of Europe”. Ukraine received candidate status for the EU in June 2022 and formally began accession talks in 2024.

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