Kremlin says Putin can meet Zelenskiy only to agree final conflict arrangements

April 22 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin can only meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to finalize agreements on the conflict, Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Wednesday.

Peskov’s comments on state television, which were reflected by Russian news agencies, came after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Ukraine wanted Türkiye to host a meeting between the two leaders to revive stalled peace talks.

According to news agencies, Peskov said, “The main thing is the purpose of this meeting. Why would they meet? Putin said that he is ready for a meeting in Moscow at any time.” he said.

“The important thing is that there is a reason to meet, and the main thing is that the meeting is productive. And this can only be done for the purpose of concluding agreements.”

Such a meeting requires careful preparation and “the political will of the Kiev regime,” Peskov said, adding, “We do not see such political will for now.”

He said Russia’s main aim in its military move, known as a “special military operation”, was to secure its vital interests and protect against attacks on Ukraine’s energy and other targets, which he described as a “terrorist danger that could come from the Kiev region”.

He said Russia was ready “even tomorrow” for any new talks with US negotiators on finding a solution to the war.

In earlier comments, Sybiha said that Kiev had asked Türkiye to host a meeting between the two leaders, but did not say how Ankar responded to this request.

The Turkish presidency said President Tayyip Erdogan told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during a meeting that Ankara was making efforts to revive negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and bring together the leaders of the warring parties.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Alistair Bell)