Kremlin aide says Putin would take a call from Zelensky
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The Facts
- Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin would answer a call from Zelensky.
- Ushakov said Putin had never refused talks.
- Ushakov said Zelensky could come to Moscow for an in-person meeting with Putin.
- Putin and Zelensky have not held direct talks since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022.
- The leaders last met in person in December 2019 during Normandy Format talks.
- A U.S.-brokered round of Russia-Ukraine talks is planned in Abu Dhabi this month.
- Ushakov said initial negotiations should involve Russia, Ukraine and the United States.
Context
Who made the statement about a possible Putin-Zelensky call?
Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin aide and foreign-policy adviser, made the statement in an interview with Russian television. Deutsche Welle tportal.hr
When did Putin and Zelensky last meet?
They last met in person in December 2019 at Normandy Format talks mediated by France and Germany. Dnevnik.hr Irish Independent
What format does the Kremlin propose for initial negotiations?
Ushakov said the initial talks should be trilateral, involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States; he said European representatives could join later. RTP - Rádio Televis… Anadolu Ajansı vijesti.me
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Putin's stated willingness to take a call or host a Moscow meeting is not itself proof of seriousness, since no direct Putin-Zelensky contact has occurred since 2022.
- Where Left and Right split
- The left and the right split on whether Russia owes proof, or the leaders just need direct contact.
- Why they won’t converge
- The divide is one of trust in the Kremlin as an institution: the left treats Ushakov's words as unverified until matched by action, while the right treats them as evidence enough to warrant testing through direct contact.
How left and right read it
Good faith has to be shown, not announced. Saying Putin would answer a call and that he never refused talks concedes nothing, so it is no evidence of seriousness from the side whose full-scale invasion began in 2022 — and suggesting Zelensky come to Moscow puts the burden of approaching on the invaded country. Heading into Abu Dhabi, press the invader for proof, not Kyiv for concessions.
A war ends only when the men who command it speak directly, not when outsiders manage the distance between them. Putin claims he would answer a call from Zelensky and even host him in Moscow, yet the two have had no direct contact since 2022 — so that offer deserves a direct test, not absorption into another U.S.-brokered round in Abu Dhabi that leaves the principals apart.
Putin's open door to Zelensky is cheap until tested: the fight is over who must walk through it first.
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