VLADIMIR Putin is ready to meet Volodymyr Zelensky, the Kremlin said while issuing a warning to Donald Trump’s nuclear threat.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said his boss will meet the Ukrainian leader “after preparatory work is done at the expert level”.
He added that such work has not yet been done.
Putin has previously rejected a slew of proposals from Zelensky to meet for negotiations.
He said last week that peace talks had made some positive progress, but that Russia had the momentum in the war.
But Donald Trump has put pressure on Russia to urgently agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine.
Trump’s deadline for a Ukraine peace is set to expire in just days after the MAGA prez cut the 50-day waiting period to just “10-12 days”.
This would mean the Russians will have till August 8 to strike a peace deal with Ukraine or else face criplling sanctions which could further stifle Moscow.
Despite the pressure from Washington, Russia has continued its onslaught against its pro-Western neighbour.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said everyone should be “very, very careful” about nuclear rhetoric in its first public reaction to Trump’s nuclear warning.
The US commander-in-chief ordered that two nuclear submarines be positioned near Russia before warning America is “totally prepared” for a nuclear war.
The extraordinary escalation by Trump followed a slew of “inflammatory” threats against America from Kremlin comrade Dmitry Medvedev.
The Kremlin played down its significance and said it was not looking to get into a public argument with him.
Peskov said: “In this case, it is obvious that American submarines are already on combat duty. This is an ongoing process, thats the first thing.
“But in general, of course, we would not want to get involved in such a controversy and would not want to comment on it in any way.
“Of course, we believe that everyone should be very, very careful with nuclear rhetoric.”
Trump has expressed frustration with Putin, questioning whether the Russian leader really wants peace with Ukraine.
He reiterated that he was “very unhappy” with Putin since their last phone call made no progress on the Ukraine peace deal – something the US president has pushed for since returning to power.
Putin has snubbed peace and is instead steadily increasing his overnight bombing raids – which could soon hit 1,000 drones and missiles a day.
Just days ago, 31 people died including five children after the Rusisans fired an Iskander missile into a residential tower block in Kyiv.
Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said over the weekend that he wants peace but that his demands for ending his invasion were “unchanged”.
“We need a lasting and stable peace on solid foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and would ensure the security of both countries,” Putin told reporters.
But he added that “the conditions [from the Russian side] certainly remain the same.”
Meanewhile, Trump confirmed his special envoy Steve Witkoff will visit Russia in the coming week.
The Republican leader said Witkoff would visit “I think next week, Wednesday or Thursday.”
Moscow today said that Witkoff’s visit would be important and helpful.
“We are always happy to see Mr. Witkoff in Moscow… We consider such contact important, substantial and helpful,” Peskov said.
He added that a meeting with Putin was in Moscow’s diary.
Putin has already met Witkoff multiple times in Moscow before Trump’s efforts to mend ties with the Kremlin came to a grinding halt.
The US special envoy has held long conversations with Putin but failed to persuade him to agree to a ceasefire.
Back in May, Zelensky had challenged the Russian dictator to meet him face-to-face to turn the screw and make a deal.
Putin instead dodged peace and said he would only meet him when there was a done deal.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14904555/putin-meet-zelensky-kremlin-trumps-deadline-ukraine/
