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Russian President Vladimir Putin has never refused talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and would answer if the Ukrainian leader called him, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said in an interview published Sunday.
“I think he will answer, of course. Putin has not once refused talks,” Ushakov told a Vesti journalist.
Ushakov said Zelenskyy had been sending signals through various channels that he wanted direct talks and said he was welcome to travel to Moscow to meet Putin.
“He is sending signals through various sources. He wants to talk, and if he wants to talk so much, let him come,” Ushakov said.
Ushakov also proposed that the first rounds of negotiations aimed at resolving the war in Ukraine involve Russia, Ukraine and the U.S.
He said European representatives could join at a later stage but argued that initial talks should take place in a trilateral format because Moscow maintains working contacts with Washington.
“We have working contacts with the Americans. So it is logical, of course, that at least the first rounds of talks be held in a trilateral format,” he said.
Separately, Ushakov said efforts to disrupt the Russia-Africa summit had failed, without providing further details.
The third Russia-Africa summit concluded in Moscow on Oct. 29 and brought together delegations from 48 African countries, including 22 heads of state.
The previous summit was held in St. Petersburg in 2023, while the inaugural gathering took place in Sochi in 2019.
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