Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Moscow.
“If meeting with Zelensky is well prepared, then I'm ready to meet,” Putin said, according to Reuters. “Let Zelensky come to Moscow and the meeting will happen.”
The declaration was made at a Beijing press conference, as Putin was wrapping up his trip for the Tianjin SCO Summit and the military parade celebrating the 80th anniversary of the victory in World War II.
Putin also asserted that military intervention in Ukraine would go on if a peace treaty could not be secured.
"I think there is a light at the end of the tunnel," Putin told reporters in Beijing, adding: "Let's see how the situation develops. If not, then we will have to resolve all our tasks militarily".
These remarks follow US attempts under then-President Donald Trump to broker a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
In mid-August, Trump had a meeting with Putin in Alaska and subsequently received Zelensky and important European and NATO leaders at the White House. Following these meetings, Trump signaled he expected a bilateral meeting between Zelensky and Putin prior to a subsequent trilateral meeting involving himself.
Zelensky has also earlier stated that Russia is preventing the chance for a direct meeting, while Russian authorities claim that the agenda for such a meeting remains to be determined.
