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Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said any meeting between Putin and Zelensky would need to be “well prepared and results-oriented,” adding that Zelensky’s safety would be guaranteed if he travelled to Moscow.
The Kremlin said on Thursday (January 29) that Russia has again invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to come to Moscow for peace talks, as US-led diplomatic efforts to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine gather pace.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had yet to receive a response from Kyiv. “We have reiterated our invitation, but so far there has been no answer,” he was quoted as saying by Interfax.
US-mediated talks add momentum
The comments came amid fresh diplomatic activity following Washington-mediated peace talks in Abu Dhabi last weekend, which officials say have injected new momentum into stalled negotiations.
A further round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations is scheduled for Sunday in Abu Dhabi. US President Donald Trump, who has pushed for a deal to end what he has called Europe’s biggest conflict since World War Two, said earlier this week that “very good things” were happening in the process.
An unnamed US official told Axios that Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin were “very close” to agreeing to a face-to-face meeting.
Fighting continues despite diplomacy
Despite the renewed diplomatic push, fierce fighting continues on the ground. Ukraine is grappling with widespread power outages following recent Russian missile strikes, while both sides on Thursday carried out another exchange of war dead.
The Kremlin declined to comment on reports that Moscow and Kyiv may have agreed to halt strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure.
Deep divisions over territory
Major disagreements remain, particularly over territory. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the issue of “who gets what territory” as the central problem that is “very difficult” to resolve.
Russia wants Ukrainian forces to withdraw from parts of the Donetsk region still under Kyiv’s control, while Ukraine has rejected any proposal to cede territory not taken by Russian forces on the battlefield.
Kyiv has argued that conceding such land would only create a platform for future Russian advances.
Security guarantees and nuclear plant
Other sticking points include the possible deployment of international peacekeepers or monitors in post-war Ukraine and the fate of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said any meeting between Putin and Zelensky would need to be “well prepared and results-oriented,” adding that Zelensky’s safety would be guaranteed if he travelled to Moscow.
Zelensky rejected a similar invitation last year, saying he could not visit the capital of a country that was “firing missiles at Ukraine every day,” and instead suggested Putin come to Kyiv.
Lavrov questions US guarantees
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov cast doubt on the viability of US-backed security guarantees for Ukraine, suggesting they would not bring lasting peace if they were designed to keep Ukraine’s current leadership in power.
Ushakov said he did not view territorial issues as the only key obstacle remaining in the talks.
English (US) ·