Zelensky says he had proposed a meeting with Putin at the G7.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that he had proposed a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G7 summit in France, but that Moscow was “not ready” for it.

Putin has repeatedly declined offers for a face‑to‑face meeting with Zelensky in an attempt to broker an end to more than four years of war.

G7 leaders were gathering on Monday for a summit in Evian‑Les‑Bains, France.

“Before the G7 started, I’ll be honest, we gave a message that we are ready to meet with Putin during G7,” Zelensky said in English as he visited a landmark Kyiv monastery that had been damaged by overnight Russian strikes.

“Europeans plus America: this is a very good opportunity to meet all together and that’s why we (could) have been able to invite the Russian side,” he added, according to comments televised by Ukrainian media.

Zelensky said that Europe and the United States had agreed to such a format, but Moscow had “once again demonstrated that it is not ready to speak about this.”

He called for increased pressure on Putin “until he will end this war.”

A source within the Ukrainian presidency told a small group of journalists, including AFP, that the proposal had been “conveyed some time ago through various channels, via intermediaries, diplomats, and intelligence agencies.”

“No clear response was given,” the source added.

Russia carried out deadly strikes on Monday that killed at least 11 people in Ukraine.

Putin launched Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, sparking Europe’s worst conflict since World War II.

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