Kremlin Says Moscow Still Awaiting Zelensky’s Response , Russia Invites Zelensky for Ukraine Peace Talks in Moscow

On Thursday, the Kremlin reaffirmed its invitation to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to visit Moscow for peace talks, as US-led attempts to end Ukraine’s nearly four-year war intensified.

The Kremlin issued its statement as the two countries exchanged war dead, and hours after declining to comment on reports that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to halt targeting each other’s energy infrastructure.

The Washington-mediated peace negotiations in Abu Dhabi this weekend injected new momentum into efforts to reach a peace agreement, although significant disparities remain between the Russian and Ukrainian negotiating positions. Fierce warfare continues, while Kyiv fights crippling power outages due by recent missile strikes.

An unnamed US official told Axios on Saturday that Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin were “very close” to meeting after the US-mediated talks.

A second round of Abu Dhabi negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian negotiating teams is slated for Sunday, and US President Donald Trump, who is pushing for a deal to end Europe’s longest conflict since World War II, said on Tuesday that “very good things” were happening in the process.

However, major disputes remain, including who gets what land in any agreement, the probable participation of international peacekeepers or monitors in post-war Ukraine, and the destiny of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility.

Kremlin Says Moscow Still Awaiting Zelensky’s Response

According to Interfax, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated on Thursday that Moscow had yet to receive a response to its offer to Zelensky to visit Moscow.

Last year, Zelensky declined a similar invitation, stating that he could not travel to the capital of a country that fired missiles at him every day. He advised at the time that Putin visit Kyiv instead.

According to Kremlin foreign policy assistant Yuri Ushakov, any meeting between Putin and Zelensky must be well-prepared and results-oriented. He stated that Zelensky’s safety would be ensured if he traveled to Moscow.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio highlighted the two sides’ disagreement over who gets what area as the fundamental issue that was “very difficult” to overcome.

Russia wants Ukrainian soldiers to leave the roughly 20% of Donetsk region that the Russian army does not control.

Kyiv has stated that it does not want to give Moscow territory that Russia has not gained on the battlefield and may potentially serve as a platform for Russian forces to drive deeper into Ukraine in the future.

Ushakov, the Kremlin aide, said on Thursday that he did not see the land issue as the only important one remaining on the table.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov questioned the sustainability of any security guarantees that Washington might be able to deliver Ukraine as part of an agreement, saying they could not usher in long-term peace if they were intended to preserve Ukraine’s existing political leadership in power.

Meanwhile, Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya in southern Russia, has urged for further fighting, reflecting hardliners’ confidence that Moscow is prevailing on the battlefield.

“I believe the war must be completed,” Kadyrov told reporters at the Kremlin. “I am against negotiations.”