September 6, 2025.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has turned down Vladimir Putin’s proposal to hold peace talks in Moscow, calling the venue unacceptable while the war continues and saying the Russian leader “can come to Kyiv,” in an interview with ABC News.
Zelensky said he cannot travel to Moscow as Ukraine faces daily missile and drone attacks, adding he is confident the Kremlin “understands this.” He argued the Moscow proposal was a tactic to delay a meeting.
Putin floated Moscow as the venue on September 3 after his trip to China and repeated the suggestion two days later at the Eastern Economic Forum, calling the Russian capital “the best place” for a summit and promising conditions and security for the Ukrainian side. He dismissed alternative venues as “excessive demands.” The Kremlin later said Zelensky had been invited “to talk, not to capitulate,” and noted that Kyiv rejected the offer.
Zelensky said he favored neutral sites such as Switzerland, Austria, or Turkey, while labeling Budapest “controversial” given Hungary’s stance on support for Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced in mid-August that preparations had begun for a potential leaders’ meeting after his summit with Putin in Alaska and talks with Zelensky and European leaders at the White House. Two weeks later, U.S. CNN reported Trump was growing frustrated by the lack of visible progress; on September 4 he said neither side was ready to make peace.
