Kyiv, Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy published an open letter to President Vladimir Putin on Thursday proposing a meeting between the two leaders to agree on ending more than four years of war. He said Ukraine was prepared to continue fighting if no settlement was reached.
Call for direct talks
In the letter, which Zelenskiy’s office said had also been sent to other countries including the United States, he proposed that the war be ended through direct engagement between the two presidents.
Zelenskiy urged Putin not to fear “the path out of this war” and proposed setting a clear date for a meeting. He said several countries had traditionally hosted leaders to resolve issues of war and peace, naming Switzerland, Turkey and countries of the Arab world.
Ceasefire proposal
Zelenskiy said the path to peace had to begin at the frontline, which he described as “the line from which diplomacy must begin”. He said Ukraine supported “a full ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations” and called this standard practice.
He added that the United States had the capability to monitor a ceasefire along the line where hostilities stop.
Message on war and public pressure
Zelenskiy said most Russians had grown tired of Ukrainian missile and drone attacks, inflation and fuel shortages, and were ready for peace.
He also said that with the United States focused on the conflict in Iran, “it would be wrong to simply wait until the war in Europe returns to the center of its attention”.
Warning to Putin
Zelenskiy said that if Putin did not personally conclude that it was time to end the war, Ukraine would continue fighting for its existence.
He also suggested that continued war could threaten Putin’s personal position, writing: “It is a fact of Russian history that you know well: when Russia grows tired, change comes.”