Putin-Zelenskyy meet to achieve peace amid ongoing war 'far from possible', says UN chief

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has stated that there are  "minimal" prospects of peace between Ukraine and Russia at the present. The UN chief revealed that he had a telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin where they discussed efforts to overcome "obstacles" that remain related to Russia's food and fertilizer exports. Guterres, however, added that it would be "naive" to believe there has been sufficient progress to bring the war in Ukraine to a rapid end. 

Speaking to Sputnik, Guterres revealed that it would “be difficult to have a direct meeting between the two presidents, but that, of course, depends on them," in reference to Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin.  

UN ready to facilitate peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine  

The UN Secretary-General added that the United Nations is ready to facilitate negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in order to create conditions for peace under the UN Charter. He, however, reiterated that holding such a meeting depended on the wishes of Putin and Zelenskyy as presidents of both nations are concentrating on their goals amid the ongoing conflict.

The UN Secretary-General further stated that the organization had "heard" that Putin will continue its special military operations in Ukraine until its targets are met, as Zelenskyy vowed to "liberate" parts of Ukraine that have fallen under Russian control, including Donbas and Crimea.  

Meanwhile, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric stated that the Secretary-General had previously, in April, requested President Putin to receive him in Moscow and President Zelenskyy to receive him in Kyiv respectively, to discuss urgent steps to usher peace in Ukraine and the future of multilateralism based on the UN-Charter and the international law.   

Previously, in an interview with CNN, Zelenskyy had stated that he was not ready to negotiate with Russia’s President. He further clarified that diplomacy would only be possible after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Ukrainian territories occupied by them. However, in the initial months of the Russian military operation, Zelenskyy had repeatedly urged Putin to meet with him in person and talk to him as a "neighbour."  

Early in September, the Presidential Spokesperson of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov revealed that Moscow was ready to hold negotiations with Kyiv but with "certain terms and conditions".