Ukraine says Putin 'lost chance' to hold peace talks after rejecting Zelenskiy's invitation
Russia's situation will deteriorate further, leading to increasing losses on the battlefield, a deeper economic recession and higher domestic inflation, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sibiha said after Putin rejected Zelenskiy's proposal to hold direct peace talks between the two leaders, according to the Kyiv Post.
“By refusing President Zelenskiy's offer to conduct direct peace negotiations, Putin lost his chance to get out of this failed war,” the foreign minister wrote on social media on Saturday.
“Russia's situation will only get worse. The losses on the battlefield will continue to mount. The setbacks will become more and more humiliating,” he continued.
The official in Kiev also warned that Russia's economy will “sink further” into recession, while unemployment, taxes and inflation will rise.
He called Putin a “fanatic” who wants to stay in power “at all costs” and is willing to “kill millions of people” for his “crazy delusions”.
“All this because he does not want to admit a simple truth: he will never achieve his goals on the battlefield,” the minister said. “Russia will still have to accept a diplomatic solution, but the conditions will be much less favorable.”
Zelensky's invitation
Three days ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed an open letter to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, proposing a face-to-face meeting in a neutral country, challenging him to set a concrete date for the meeting, according to The Kyiv Independent, which published the full text of the letter.
In response, Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he sees no reason to meet Volodymyr Zelenskiy as long as a peace agreement is not drawn up.
US President Donald Trump expressed his support for Zelenski's initiative. “I think it would be great if they got together. They should — work it out,” he said Thursday.
