Zelenskyy: Ready to meet with Putin anywhere but Moscow

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was ready to meet with the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin "anywhere" except Moscow. The head of state said this in an interview with the American TV channel ABC News, recorded on September 5.

When Putin said that he was ready to meet if Zelenskyy came to Moscow, he replied with a smile: "He can come to Kyiv."

"You know, if a person doesn't want to meet during the war, of course, they can offer something that may not be acceptable to me or to other [partners]. This is understandable. I can't go to Moscow when my country is under rockets, under attack every day. I can't go to the capital of these terrorists," the Ukrainian leader said.

According to him, the Russian dictator understands this.

Zelenskyy noted that Putin was making demands on Moscow to postpone the meeting: "I have always said that Putin cannot be trusted. He plays games, and he plays games with the United States. I think so".

The journalist clarified whether the possibility of a bilateral meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin is now dead.

"It was a signal from the president Trump. And I said, 'Look, Mr. president, I'm ready for any meeting, but not in Russia. Any meeting – bilateral, trilateral – we will be happy to have you [there]," the president replied.

• Pro-Russian Slovak prime minister Fico said that during a meeting in China on September 2, Putin allegedly told him that he was ready to meet "anywhere," not just in Moscow. In public, Putin "invited" Zelenskyy to his capital.
• Foreign minister Sybiha said that at least seven countries are ready to hold a meeting between the Ukrainian president and the Russian dictator.