"Ukraine proposes to end this war through direct dialogue between us and you. I propose a face-to-face meeting and I propose setting a specific date," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in an open letter to Vladimir Putin.

"Ukraine is ready for a complete ceasefire for the duration of negotiations" with Russia to end the war, the Kiev leader added, explaining that "attempting to establish a real truce is the best way to start a dialogue."

Again, Zelensky writes, "Don't be afraid to take the path out of this war. This is the main thing that is required of you now. You have spent almost half of your 26 years in power in Russia waging war on Ukraine. Whatever you may say about NATO, geopolitics, or the Russian language, this war is your personal choice: a war without a real cause. That is how history will remember it."

"We often hear that you have no problem with this war," Zelensky adds. "But now we can see that Russians are finally beginning to accept this reality less calmly—that the war is bringing increasingly negative consequences to Russia. But we in Ukraine don't want a permanent war. We know very well that life without war is infinitely better. And we want to achieve this goal," the Ukrainian leader concludes, saying he is "convinced that most Russians would react positively to this as well, and you know it."

For his part, Vladimir Putin explained that the ideal mediator for peace talks could be former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder . Regarding the proposed meeting, the Kremlin said the Ukrainian president " is welcome to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow." "Zelensky can come to Moscow at any time," state media reported, citing spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Donald Trump also commented on the possibility of a face-to-face meeting: "It would be wonderful if they met, they must do it," the US president said, speaking of Zelensky's letter to Putin.

(Unioneonline/lf)

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