Putin Rejects Open Letter By Zelensky Urging Meet: 'Pointless'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has responded dismissively to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's open letter issued the day prior, which urged that the two leaders meet in order to finally forge a peace deal and bring an end to the war, now it its fifth year.

Putin made clear Friday that he sees no point in holding a personal meeting with Zelensky. He was asked directly about the letter while attending the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). In response the Russian leader addressed not the "authors of the epistolary genre," but to Russian soldiers on the frontline: "The whole country is proud of you and is counting on you. Keep up the good work, brothers!" And then, per TASS:

Asked to clarify if this response means that he doesn’t plan to meet with the letter’s author, Putin said, "So far, I see no point in this."

He went on to reject the idea of "meeting just for the sake of meeting" - but did reveal for the first time that only last month he sent an informal envoy to Ukraine at Kiev’s request. Apparently that was the opening of a serious diplomatic overture.

But then, he noted, Ukrainian forces bombed a college dormitory in Lugansk merely soon after the Russian envoy arrived. The brutal attack killed 21 people, mostly teenage girls - and injured many dozens more. The Kremlin was outraged at the 'terrorist act' and the following week heavily bombed various Ukrainian cities, especially the capital. 

State media featured more of Putin's response:

The letter is either "a means to create an environment for a personal meeting, or maybe is this letter meant to make sure that no personal meetings can take place at all,” he remarked, concluding: “I think it's the second.”

Zelensky's lengthy Thursday letter had said Ukraine is also ready for a "full ceasefire." Zelensky wrote: "Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us - and you. I am proposing a meeting. Ukraine is ready for a full ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations," he added.

The letter also at one point said, "The choice is yours now. Enough of war" and then spells out that "Ukraine proposes to end this war."

"This must be done honestly, with dignity, and with guarantees that the war will not be reignited," Zelensky added. And then interestingly, "We see that the United States is fully focused on the issue of Iran, and it would be wrong to simply wait until the war in Europe returns to the center of its attention."

Despite the long appeal, President Putin and the Kremlin have demonstrated a willingness to allow a long war to drag on, and are unlikely to be moved. Putin has said there's no need for a truce unless a deal is already close or about to be signed. But the two sides aren't any closer to being at the negotiating table as yet.