SAINT PETERSBURG: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ruled out meeting his Ukrainian counterpart any time soon, a day after Volodymyr Zelensky called for a sit-down between the leaders to end the four-year war.

Speaking at an economic forum in his home city of Saint Petersburg, Putin said he saw “no point” in meeting Zelensky until the terms of a possible peace deal had been agreed.

He also vowed to press on with Russia’s military offensive until its war goals had been achieved in full.

Russia has demanded control of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region as well as sweeping political and military restrictions on its neighbour.

Kyiv and its allies have ruled them out as tantamount to capitulation.

Putin said the conflict would only stop when Russia’s goals are met.

“Military actions will end some day, we assume. Without a doubt, they will end once we have achieved the goals we have set for ourselves,” Putin told the audience of business leaders and visiting dignitaries from Russia’s allies.

US-brokered peace talks have failed to bring the sides closer to a deal.

Rare appeal

Zelensky had on Thursday issued a rare direct appeal to the Russian leader.

“Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us — and you. I am proposing a meeting,” Zelensky said in the letter.

“I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting,” he said.

Putin refused on Friday.

“I see no point in meeting. It only makes sense for the Ukrainian side to stop the advance of our armed forces. That’s it. And we need agreements,” Putin told Russia’s flagship economic forum in Saint Petersburg.

“Let the experts work, develop some solutions, and then we can meet,” Putin added.

The Russian leader has repeatedly questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy as Ukraine’s head of state.

Zelensky says a meeting between the two men is needed to hash out the key issues of a peace deal.

His latest proposal for a meeting won support from key allies, including US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.

President Putin dismissed Western claims that the Russian economy was falling apart under the weight of war.

The economy shrank by 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of this year, its first quarterly slump in three years.

“We, of course, hear criticism from all sides that everything has collapsed,” Putin said.

“We have descended to the same level at which eurozone countries have been living through for the past few years,” the Russian leader said.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2026