New Delhi: Russia on Thursday said it has reiterated its invitation to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to travel to Moscow for direct peace talks, even as US-led diplomacy intensifies to try to end the nearly four-year-old war in Ukraine.
The statement from the Kremlin came on a day when Moscow and Kyiv conducted another exchange of war dead, and shortly after Russian officials declined to comment on reports suggesting the two sides may have agreed to halt strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure.
US-brokered talks held in Abu Dhabi last weekend have injected fresh momentum into the peace process, though fighting continues across the front lines and Ukraine remains grappling with widespread power outages after recent missile attacks.
An unnamed US official told Axios on Saturday that Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin were “very close” to arranging a face-to-face meeting following the US-mediated discussions.
Abu Dhabi talks resume, Trump signals optimism
Negotiating delegations from Russia and Ukraine are due to meet again in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. US President Donald Trump, who has been pressing both sides to strike a deal, said earlier this week that “very good things” were happening in the talks.
Despite the renewed engagement, negotiators remain divided on core issues, including territorial control, the possible deployment of international peacekeepers or monitors in post-war Ukraine, and the future of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Kremlin says no reply yet from Kyiv
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Interfax that Moscow has not yet received any response from Zelensky to the latest invitation.
Zelensky had rejected a similar proposal last year, arguing that he could not travel to the capital of a country that was launching daily missile attacks on Ukraine. At the time, he suggested that Putin should instead come to Kyiv.
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday that any summit between Putin and Zelensky would need to be carefully prepared and focused on concrete outcomes. He added that Zelensky’s safety would be guaranteed if he chose to visit Moscow.
Territory remains the hardest issue
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described disagreements over territory as the single most difficult obstacle to resolving the conflict.
Russia is demanding that Ukrainian forces withdraw from parts of the Donetsk region still under Kyiv’s control, an area that makes up roughly 20% of the territory Moscow claims.
Ukraine has countered that it will not cede land that Russian forces have failed to capture militarily, warning that such concessions could enable future offensives deeper into Ukrainian territory. Ushakov said on Thursday that he did not view territorial questions as the only unresolved issue.
Security guarantees and hardline voices
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed scepticism over any security guarantees Washington might offer Ukraine, saying they would not lead to lasting peace if they were designed to keep Ukraine’s current leadership in power.
Meanwhile, Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, openly opposed negotiations, reflecting the stance of hardliners who believe Russia is prevailing militarily.
“I believe the war must be taken to its conclusion,” Kadyrov told reporters at the Kremlin. “I am against negotiations.”