Putin Ready To Meet Zelenskyy in Neutral Venue, Says Ukraine War May End Soon

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed for the first time his readiness to meet with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a neutral venue, saying on Saturday (May 9, 2026) that he believed the full-scale war with Ukraine could be over soon.

After US President Donald Trump announced a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine till Monday (May 11), Putin said the meeting with Zelenskyy could help settle the over four-year war, breaking an impasse in the diplomatic efforts to end the war.

In an interaction with the media on Tuesday (May 5) on the sidelines of the Victory Day Parade, Putin had said he hadn’t turned down an opportunity to meet Zelenskyy.

He noted that the meeting in a “third country” was possible if a comprehensive, long-term peace was agreed to, and the meeting could be the occasion to sign an agreement.

“I just heard once more that the Ukrainian side and Zelenskyy are ready to have a personal meeting. We heard that before. We have never refused; I have never refused. If they propose a meeting, those who want to meet can travel to Moscow,” Putin said.

“We can meet in a third country as well, but only after there is an ultimate agreement regarding a peace deal that must be a long-term deal. Then we can meet to sign something, but this should be the final thing to do, not the place for negotiations,” he added.

Putin highlighted the need for initial negotiations to be conducted by specialists, adding that discussions similar to the Minsk accords often result in long talks with little progress.

“We know what these negotiations could look like from the Minsk accords. One can speak for hours, and it yields no results. We need specialists to take care of that, to make it clear for both sides. Then we can meet to sign or attend a ceremony,” the Russian President said.

On Saturday (May 9), during a media interaction at the Kremlin, Putin was confident that the Ukraine war was coming to an end. “I think the war (in Ukraine) is coming to an end,” he said.

Putin blamed the Western nations for escalating the war, claiming that a “globalist wing of Western elites is fighting against us through the hands of Ukrainians.”

“First of all, they were expecting a crushing defeat for Russia, as we know full well, and the collapse of its statehood within a matter of months,” he said. “But then they got stuck in this rut, and now they simply cannot find a way out of it; that is the problem.”

Earlier in the day, Kremlin presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov once again extended the Kremlin’s “standing invitation” to Zelenskyy to meet with Putin in Moscow. Zelensky has repeatedly said he is willing to meet with Putin in any city that is not a party to the full-scale war.

Putin also said he would potentially be willing to meet with European leaders to negotiate an end to the war, particularly those leaders who had not disparaged Russia.