Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that he would be willing to travel to Miami for December’s G20 leaders’ summit if his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, also attends, in remarks that could set the stage for the first face-to-face meeting between the two wartime leaders since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Russia-Ukraine War Latest Live News: What Did Zelensky Tell DW?
Speaking in an interview with Deutsche Welle conducted at Canadian Forces Base North Bay, Zelensky confirmed he would travel to the United States for the summit should Putin be present, saying it was necessary for the two sides to meet, talk and reach decisions, adding that outcomes ultimately mattered more than words exchanged along the way.
The remarks mark one of Zelensky’s clearest public statements yet on his willingness to meet Putin directly, rather than through intermediaries, at a moment when diplomatic efforts to end the war have gained renewed momentum.
Russia-Ukraine War Latest Live News: Will Putin Attend The Miami Summit?
The Kremlin has not confirmed whether Putin intends to attend the summit in person. Putin has not appeared at a G20 gathering in person since 2019, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, addressing the question earlier this year, said only that the Russian leader may go to Miami as a member of the G20, leaving open the possibility that Moscow could instead send another senior representative in his place.
US President Donald Trump has previously said he believed in talking to “everybody” involved in the conflict, though he acknowledged scepticism about Putin’s attendance, saying at the time, “I doubt he’d come, to be honest with you,” while separately arguing that Russia’s earlier expulsion from the G8 had been a mistake.
Russia-Ukraine War Latest Live News: Why Haven’t Putin And Zelensky Met?
Zelensky and Putin have not held direct, in-person talks since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago, despite periodic diplomatic pushes, including Trump-brokered efforts earlier this year following his own summit with Putin in Alaska.
A potential Miami meeting would therefore represent a significant symbolic breakthrough, even as officials on both sides have repeatedly cautioned that substantive progress on a ceasefire or broader peace settlement remains a separate and more difficult question from simply arranging a meeting.
Russia-Ukraine War Latest Live News: What Else Did Zelensky Discuss?
Beyond the prospect of meeting Putin, Zelensky used the DW interview to raise Ukraine’s continued need for interceptor missiles for its Patriot air defence systems ahead of the coming winter, and said he had discussed with US envoys the possibility of a limited ceasefire covering energy infrastructure and grain exports as a potential first step toward wider negotiations.
In a separate interview with CBC News during the same visit, Zelensky also weighed in on rising tensions between Canada and the United States, describing the situation as strange and warning that problems between neighbouring countries carried real danger, drawing a direct comparison to Ukraine’s own experience with Russia by noting that it is very dangerous when there are some problems between neighbours.
Russia-Ukraine War Latest Live News: What Is Happening With His Canada Visit?
Friday’s remarks came at the tail end of a three-day visit to Canada that also took Zelensky and his wife, Olena Zelenska, to Calgary and Toronto, focused on strengthening defence, economic and energy cooperation between the two countries. During the trip, Ukraine and Canada signed a long-term strategic partnership agreement covering defence, trade, energy and critical minerals, alongside a commitment to jointly manufacture millions of drones for use in both countries’ defence.
Zelensky also met with Ukrainian pilots training on modern fighter jets at Canada’s International Test Pilots School, writing on social media that his country is doing everything it can to protect its skies as the war heads into another winter.
