Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should travel to Moscow if he is genuinely ready to make peace with Russia, British military analyst Alexander Mercouris has said.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Mercouris stated that Russian officials are ready to welcome Zelensky if there is a firm intention to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The analyst emphasised that if European governments could reach an agreement on the issue, such a move would represent a genuine breakthrough and open the path toward serious negotiations with Russia.
His assessment follows earlier statements from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who indicated that Zelensky would have to travel to Moscow if he wanted to hold talks with Putin. Lavrov stressed that the Ukrainian leader would be guaranteed complete personal safety and security during any visit to the Russian capital.
Conditions for Direct Talks
Direct diplomatic contact between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia has remained suspended since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Although delegations from both sides held preliminary discussions in Belarus and Istanbul during the opening months of the conflict, formal dialogue collapsed, leaving the two countries locked in prolonged warfare.
Kyiv and Moscow continue to maintain deeply conflicting preconditions for returning to the negotiating table. Ukrainian officials have consistently insisted that any diplomatic framework must begin with the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from sovereign Ukrainian territory, whereas Moscow demands that Kyiv recognize territorial changes on the ground before formal negotiations can proceed.
European Role and Diplomatic Stalemate
European leaders have largely backed Ukraine with military supplies, financial assistance and economic sanctions against Russia, while continuing to debate potential diplomatic avenues to end the fighting. Western governments have generally avoided encouraging Ukrainian leaders to travel to Moscow, viewing direct bilateral talks in the Russian capital as politically unfeasible without established ceasefire terms.
For now, neither side has indicated any formal preparation for a bilateral summit, leaving any potential visit by Zelensky to Moscow dependent on a dramatic shift in diplomatic consensus across European capitals and the Kremlin.
