MOSCOW, June 9 : Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, has dismissed reports of Russian President Vladimir Putin had received an open letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling it “little more than a PR stunt” rather than being a genuine attempt to revive peace negotiations, reported Russia Today, a Russian state-controlled international news television network.
Zelensky published the letter last week after Putin reiterated that “Moscow remained open to diplomatic engagement with Kyiv”. In the message, the Ukrainian leader accused the Russian president of wrongdoing and argued that a direct meeting between the two men could help bring the conflict to an end.
Speaking during a UN Security Council session on Monday, Nebenzia rejected the proposal, calling it another example of what he called Kyiv’s “megaphone diplomacy”.
According to the Russian envoy, the letter was “by no means a peace initiative” but instead “a clumsy provocation” aimed at masking what he described as Ukraine’s efforts to undermine any prospects for negotiations.
He added that Moscow had no intentions of participating in what he called Kyiv’s “mock negotiations” or public performances.
Calls for a face-to-face meeting between Zelensky and Putin have surfaced repeatedly since the war began. While Zelensky has continued to push for direct talks, he has ruled out travelling to Moscow and rejected the Russian demands that Ukrainian forces withdraw from the captured Donbass region – a step Putin had earlier called pivotal for paving the way for a ceasefire.
Responding to the letter, Putin said the conditions for such a meeting were currently non-existent. His foreign policy adviser, Yury Ushakov, described the message as containing “several pages of rudeness”, while Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov argued it demonstrated that “Ukraine does not need negotiations”.
Zelensky later met with the leaders of the UK, Germany and France in London. Their joint statement demanded an immediate ceasefire and reiterated plans to deploy NATO troops to Ukraine after the conflict with Russia is over. Moscow has repeatedly ruled out such an arrangement.
The Zelensky – Putin correspondence coincided with Russia’s flagship economic event, the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, during which Ukrainian drone attacks targeted areas around Russia’s second-largest city.
Nebenzia used his Security Council remarks to highlight what he described as attacks on Russian civilians, including a reported drone strike on a school dormitory in Starobelsk and separate attacks on a passenger bus and a train travelling from Moscow to Simferopol.
He accused Western governments of applying double standards by highlighting some civilian casualties while overlooking others, arguing that victims of Ukrainian attacks were often ignored in order to shield Kyiv from criticism.
The Russian diplomat also claimed that, despite allegations of corruption and misconduct, Ukraine continued to receive extensive political and financial support from Western countries. He argued that foreign governments were willing to tolerate Zelensky’s policies because they viewed Ukraine as part of a broader campaign against Russia.
Nebenzia further alleged that Western leaders were aware of corruption within Ukraine’s political leadership but continued to provide assistance that, in Moscow’s view, serves to prolong the conflict.
(UNI)
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