Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he would be willing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Miami in December, as efforts continue to find a way to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
In an interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, released on Saturday, Zelensky said he was ready for a direct meeting with Putin if both leaders were invited to the summit.
“Yes, of course,” Zelensky said when asked about the possibility of meeting Putin. He stressed that the purpose of such a meeting should be to make decisions and achieve concrete results rather than simply exchange statements.
The United States is currently holding the G20 presidency, with the leaders’ summit scheduled to take place in Miami in December. Washington has been trying to restart negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv after several previous rounds of talks failed to produce a lasting agreement.
US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner recently visited both Moscow and Kyiv as part of diplomatic efforts to bring the two sides back to negotiations. US President Donald Trump and Putin also spoke by phone earlier this week in what the Kremlin described as a frank and constructive conversation.
Zelensky welcomed the visit by the US negotiators, saying it was important that they had travelled to both Russia and Ukraine. He described their engagement as a positive signal and said it showed respect for the Ukrainian people.
Zelensky also said he plans to meet Trump in late September as Washington continues to push for renewed face-to-face negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.
Ukraine has indicated that talks with Russia could potentially take place as early as this month. However, the Kremlin has said it is too early to discuss a venue or specific dates.
Previous rounds of negotiations have failed to bridge major differences between the two countries. Trust remains extremely low, while both Moscow and Kyiv continue to maintain positions that have made a settlement difficult.
Zelensky argued that Ukraine is currently in a stronger position on the battlefield than it was last year. He claimed that Russia was suffering significant battlefield losses while making only slow progress.
According to the Ukrainian president, these circumstances have given Kyiv a stronger position going into any future negotiations.
At the same time, fighting continues, with both sides carrying out long-range attacks. The ongoing strikes have contributed to a rise in civilian casualties in recent months.
Zelensky has also appealed to Ukraine’s Western allies for additional interceptor missiles to strengthen the country’s air defence against Russian attacks.
Whether a direct Zelensky-Putin meeting will actually take place at the December G20 summit remains uncertain. However, the proposal signals Kyiv’s willingness to pursue direct dialogue if it can lead to meaningful progress towards ending the conflict.
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