Is a meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, and Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart, on the table? Last week the Kremlin said it was “open” to a summit of the two leaders to discuss ending the war, though it did not commit to one. In a video address released early on Monday (14 March), Zelensky said that his negotiators would discuss a meeting with Putin in the fourth round of negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian delegates.
“Our mission is clear: to do everything we can to ensure a meeting of the two presidents, the meeting that I am sure people are waiting for,” Zelensky said. The Ukrainian side is understood to believe that any agreement on a lasting ceasefire will need to be made by Putin, because his is the only authority of any consequence in Russia.
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