Russian President Vladimir Putin said he “sees no benefit” in meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy an effort to end the war and Ukraine.
On Thursday, Zelenskyy wrote a letter to Putin, his first public message to a Russian leader since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, in which he criticized Putin’s 26-year rule and said “the years are getting dangerous.”
Speaking in St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin described Zelenskyy’s open letter proposing the meeting as “boorish.”
“Is it a way to create conditions for personal meetings and discussions, or to create an environment that makes any personal meetings impossible?” Putin said this in a question and answer session in St. Petersburg International Economic Forum his annual. “I think it’s the second.”
Putin added that an unnamed Russian businessman went to Kyiv last month and met with Zelenskyy to hear his request for a personal meeting.
However, Putin said he currently sees “no point” in such a meeting, especially after a May 22 drone attack in Ukraine on a college dormitory in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region that Moscow said killed 21 and injured scores of others.
Viktor Kovalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
Responding to Zelenskyy’s barbs about his age and longevity in power, 73-year-old Putin referred to other aging world leaders, adding that “the main thing is not age; the main thing is the ability to work.”
He also mocked Zelenskyy’s Oval Office meeting in 2025 and thanked US President Trump for “educating” Zelenskyy “in front of the eyes of the whole world” and teaching him how to dress appropriately.
“There is still a lot to be done,” he said.
Zelenskyy admitted to changing US priorities, saying it would be a mistake to simply wait for the Trump administration to turn its attention to ending the conflict in Ukraine while focusing on the war with Iran.
In Washington, Mr. Trump said Thursday that it would be “great” if Putin and Zelenskyy met.
Mr. Trump said on Friday that he did not care if the two leaders met before the United States intervened, as he had previously suggested.
“I am the one who brought them to this point,” said Mr. Trump while speaking to reporters on Air Force One. “And I think that will work. … We want to see it done.”
Putin has previously asked that Zelenskyy come to Moscow to discuss, a proposal that the Ukrainian leader rejected. Putin said last month that he does not rule out a meeting in a third country, but only if there is an agreement to be signed.
On Thursday, Putin again rejected Zelenskyy’s push for an immediate end to the war, saying Moscow wanted a full settlement, not a temporary deal.
Putin said that Russia is open to an agreement on Ukraine in line with the consensus reached at his summit last year with Mr.
“In general, the Ukrainian side would like us to stop the progress made by the Russian military,” he said. “But it would be better to end the war by agreeing to the compromise negotiated in Anchorage.”
Asked about Iran, Putin expressed hope for a final deal to secure lasting peace. He dismissed allegations that Moscow had provided Iran with satellite images, saying Tehran could use more commercially available ones.
“Regarding weapons, Iran has not asked us and we have not provided weapons to Iran,” he said, adding that Russia is ready to take enriched uranium for storage as part of a possible peace deal, and that Moscow is in constant contact with Iran, the US and Israel.
World chaos
In his speech on Friday at the forum, Putin said that developing countries have gained an important role in the world economy, while the share of Western countries’ products is decreasing.
He accused the West of undermining the global economy and finance through unilateral sanctions. By freezing Russian assets abroad through sanctions, Western countries have destroyed trust in their currencies, he said.
“The sanctions and the embargo of Russia’s private sector have had an irreversible impact on the stability of international currencies, the dollar and the euro,” he said. “Like Russia, any other country could lose access to its legal assets in dollars or euros, as well as Western financial and payment systems.”
Valery Sharifulin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images 
He pointed out that the country’s high debts have helped the world distrust Western institutions.
“The roots of the current global upheaval are in the transition from a static, hierarchical model, serving the interests of a small number of states, to a complex, distributed and multipolar one,” Putin said. “Russia considers global changes not only as a threat but also as great opportunities. And in order to work on them, we intend to act quickly and appropriately.”
The Russian leader said the world needs a “modern, flexible and responsible financial structure – without risks, restrictions and obstacles.”
Putin emphasizes Russia’s macroeconomic stability
Putin played down Russia’s economic slowdown and sought to emphasize its macroeconomic stability. He noted that Russia’s national debt is half of that in the West and the budget deficit is very small, compared to the West.
The forum comes at a time when Russia’s economic situation is changing amid the conflict in Ukraine. The government raised taxes and increased domestic borrowing to manage its budget deficit.
On Thursday, Putin told heads of international media on the sidelines of the forum that it was an exaggeration to say that Russia’s economy was struggling. He mentioned that his government has taken deliberate measures to cool down the economy in order to control inflation.
Putin used the St. Petersburg, comparable to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to showcase his country’s economic development and encourage foreign investment. While Western officials and business leaders did not leave after Putin sent troops to Ukraine in 2022, Russia sought visitors from elsewhere to emphasize its declared goal of promoting a “mixed world.”
Saudi Arabia sent a large delegation this year, and the presidents of Uzbekistan and Tanzania and the vice president of China also gave speeches on Friday. American official, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., head of the US Commission of Fine Arts, will be there for the first time in years.
Cook was directed to the audience during a question-and-answer session following Putin’s speech. Cook praised the beauty of St.
Hours before the forum opened on Wednesday, a Ukrainian airstrike set fire to an oil terminal in St.
Putin declared that Russia “moved calmly and decisively” to achieve its goals in Ukraine. He acknowledged the damage caused by Ukrainian drones deep inside Russia and vowed to build up defenses.
“They are causing some damage,” he said. “For us, it means only one thing: we need to strengthen our security, strengthen our air defense, and we will do that.”
