Russia invites Ukraine President Zelensky to Moscow for peace talks

The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia has reiterated its invitation to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to visit Moscow for peace talks, amid intensifying US-led efforts to broker an agreement to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine.

The statement came as Russia and Ukraine carried out their latest exchange of war dead, and hours after Moscow declined to comment on reports suggesting that the two sides had agreed to halt strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure.

Washington-mediated peace talks held in Abu Dhabi last weekend have injected renewed momentum into diplomatic efforts to reach a settlement. However, major differences remain between the Russian and Ukrainian negotiating positions. Fierce fighting continues on the ground, while Ukraine is dealing with widespread power outages following recent missile attacks.

An unnamed US official told Axios on Saturday that Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin were “very close” to arranging a meeting following the US-mediated discussions.

Another round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiating delegations is scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. US President Donald Trump, who has been advocating for an end to what he has described as Europe’s largest conflict since World War Two, said on Tuesday that “very good things” were happening in the peace process.

Despite these developments, significant disagreements remain unresolved. These include questions over territorial control in any future settlement, the possible deployment of international peacekeepers or monitors in post-war Ukraine, and the future of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by the Interfax news agency, said on Thursday that Moscow has not yet received a response to its invitation for Zelensky to come to the Russian capital.

Zelensky had rejected a similar invitation last year, saying he could not go to the capital of a country that was firing missiles at Ukraine every day. At the time, he suggested that Putin travel to Kyiv instead.

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday that any meeting between Putin and Zelensky would need to be carefully prepared and focused on achieving concrete results. He added that Zelensky’s safety would be guaranteed if he visited Moscow.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that the disagreement over territorial claims was the central issue and described it as “very difficult” to resolve.

Russia is seeking the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the roughly 20% of the Donetsk region that remains outside Russian military control.

Kyiv has stated that it does not want to concede territory that Russia has not captured on the battlefield, arguing that such areas could be used by Russian forces in the future to launch further advances into Ukraine.

Ushakov said on Thursday that he did not consider territorial issues to be the only major matter still under negotiation.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed doubts about the effectiveness of any security guarantees that the United States might offer Ukraine as part of a peace agreement. He said he questioned whether such guarantees could bring lasting stability if they were aimed at keeping Ukraine’s current political leadership in power.

Meanwhile, Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya in southern Russia, called for continuing the war rather than pursuing peace, reflecting the views of some hardliners who believe Moscow is gaining the upper hand on the battlefield.

“I believe the war must be taken to its conclusion,” Kadyrov told reporters at the Kremlin. “I am against negotiations.”