Putin invites Zelensky to Moscow for peace talks in big potential war breakthrough

Putin invites Zelensky to Moscow for peace talks in big potential war breakthrough The leaders of Finland and Norway - which both share borders with Russia - had a phone conversation with Russia President Vladimir Zelensky during which he said his Ukrainian counterpart should come to Moscow for direct talks President Vladimir Putin has assured Ukrainian's Volodymyr Zelensky that security arrangement would be provided if he met with the Russian leader in Moscow for direct negotiations. Russia media quoted a Russian presidential aide as saying that Mr Putin assured Mr Zelensky that all necessary conditions would be provided for the meeting. This comes after Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb told Mr Putin during a recent phone call that Mr Zelensky was interested in holding direct talks with the Russian leader. Ukraine was consulted during preparations for the call, the Office of the President of Finland. said. The Nordic leader initiated the conversation to discuss the war, diplomatic efforts to end the conflict and attempts to promote peace and stability across Europe. "Our boss reiterated that if Zelensky truly wishes to hold direct negotiations, he should come to Moscow, where all necessary conditions - including those regarding his safety - will be provided for him," Russia's state-run news agency Tass said, citing Mr Ushakov. Mr Ushakov also said that the 90-minute phone conversation between the three leader focused mainly on an agreement to resume trilateral talks among Russian, Ukrainian, and US representatives in Abu Dhabi. The purpose of the call was to convey messages from Ukraine directly to Mr Putin ahead of forthcoming peace negotiations in Abu Dhabi. Mr Ushakov said that the topic of European representation in talks on Ukraine was not under consideration at present. "We are not looking at who might represent Europe at all, as that will be decided at a much later stage," he said. The phone call ended with the leaders agreeing to speak again if necessary. Finland and Norway both share borders with Russia and have remained supporters of Ukraine throughout the more than four-year conflict. Mr Stubb and Mr Støre participated in their capacities as the leaders of Finland and Norway and were not acting as representatives of Europe. The Finnish presidency said Finland and Norway have consistently worked to promote peace and security in their respective regions. "The phone conversation was, I would say, thorough and substantive," Mr Ushakov said.