Russia’s Vladimir Putin ready to talk to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky ‘if…’ | What Kremlin said

Russia-US talks on Ukraine War: The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to talk to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky “if necessary”. However, the Russian government also reiterated its questioning of Zelensky's legitimacy as Ukrainian president.

“Putin himself said that he would be ready to negotiate with Zelensky if necessary, but the legal basis of agreements needs discussion considering the reality that Zelensky's legitimacy can be questioned,” AFP quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling reporters.

On Tuesday, top US and Russian officials started meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss how to end the Ukraine war without anyone from Kyiv taking part and as Europe struggles to respond to the rapid pace of events.

The talks in Riyadh follow US President Donald Trump’s landmark phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin last week, during which he reversed key US positions on the conflict.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi National Security Adviser Mosaad bin Mohammad Al-Aiban, US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin's Foreign Policy Advisor Yuri Ushakov, met in Riyadh on Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned his country won’t recognize “any agreements about us without us.”

Russia-US talks: No Reservations on Ukraine joining EU, says Kremlin

Dimitry Peskov further clarified on Tuesday that Russia has no reservations about Ukraine joining the European Union.

Russia did not intend to dictate to Kyiv how it should approach the question, but it would draw a line when it comes to military alliances, Peskov added.

“This is the sovereign right of any country. We are talking about integration and economic processes, and here, of course, no one can dictate anything to any country. We're not going to do that,” Peskov told reporters.

“But our stance on matters related to security, defence or military alliances is completely different. There's another issue there, and it's well known to everyone,” he added.

On NATO, Peskov said: “There is a completely different position, of course, on security-related issues related to defence or military alliances.”

In comments that are likely to cause further alarm in central and eastern Europe, Peskov also said that “a lasting and long-term viable resolution is impossible without a comprehensive consideration of security issues on the continent.”

The Kremlin spokesperson also added that the talks in Riyadh might provide more clarity on a possible meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, but there is no understanding on this question yet.