Zelensky bluntly rejects Putin’s invite to Moscow, ‘can't go the capital of a TERRORIST… come to Kyiv’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has turned down Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invitation to hold talks in Moscow noting that he is unwillig to travel to the capital of a country that continues to launch daily missile attacks on Ukraine.

While speaking to ABC News, Zelensky further suggested that if Putin truly wants dialogue, he should come to Kyiv instead.

"He can come to Kyiv. If a person doesn't want to meet during the war, of course, he can propose something which is acceptable to me or the other. It's understandable; I can't go to Moscow when my country's under missiles, under attack, each day. I can't go to the capital of this terrorist," Zelensky said.

Accusing Putin of using the invitation as a political manoeuvre to delay dialogue, Ukraine President said, he is was "playing games" with the US.

"And he understands it... He is doing it to postpone the meeting. He is playing games, and he is playing games with the United States," he added.

The sharp remarks come days after the Russian President expressed his openness to meeting Zelensky, suggesting that such a meeting could take place in Moscow, provided it is well-prepared and aimed at producing a constructive outcome.

Putin invites Zelensky to Moscow

After his four-day China visit, Putin said he is open to dialogue on the Ukraine conflict, but only within Ukraine’s constitutional framework.

"I've already said that I've never ruled out such a meeting, but whether this can be meaningful in accordance with the Ukrainian constitution... It is possible; I never rule this out. If the meeting is well-prepared and leads to a positive potential outcome, it is possible. And by the way, Donald (Trump) asked me if it's possible to have such a meeting, and I said that it is. After all, if Zelenskyy is ready, he can come to Moscow. This is quite possible," he stated.

Putin also repeated Moscow's longstanding objection to Ukraine's potential NATO membership, calling it a direct threat to Russian national interests, while showing less resistance to Ukraine's European Union ambitions.

"We always opposed the idea of Ukraine becoming a member of the North Atlantic Alliance, but we never doubted its right to engage in its economic activities in any way it likes, and that includes EU membership," he stated.

Following Putin's remark, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, slammed the Russian President, accusing him of not accepting proposals given by "at least seven countries" to host the talks, while calling his proposal "knowingly unacceptable".