KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy published an open letter to President Vladimir Putin on Thursday in which he proposed the two leaders meet to agree an end to more than four years of war, warning that Kyiv stood ready to fight on otherwise.
In his letter, which the president’s office said had been sent to other countries, including the United States, Zelenskiy said the majority of Russians had grown tired of Ukrainian missile and drone attacks, inflation and fuel shortages, and were ready for peace.
Zelenskiy 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”.
And the path to peace, he said, had to start at the frontline, “the line from which diplomacy must begin”. Ukraine, Zelenskiy said, stood for “a full ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations. This is standard practice.”
Zelenskiy proposed setting a clear date for a meeting and said several countries had “traditionally hosted leaders to resolve issues of war and peace”, citing Switzerland, Turkey and the countries of the Arab world.
“Do not be afraid to take the path out of this war. That is the main thing that is required of you now,” Zelenskiy wrote.
“Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us — and you. I am proposing a meeting…If you do not personally come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue fighting for its existence.”
And continued war, Zelenskiy suggested, could threaten Putin’s personal position.
“It is a fact of Russian history that you know well: when Russia grows tired, change comes.”
In Moscow, the Kremlin said it had seen Zelenskiy’s letter and that Putin would be briefed on it.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Daniel Flynn, Ron Popeski and Deepa Babington)
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