Sawt Falasteen - Putin rules out meeting Zelensky and vows to pursue war goals

Speaking at an economic forum in his home city of Saint Petersburg, Putin said he saw "no point" in meeting Zelensky until a possible peace deal had been agreed. Zelensky hit back saying the Russian leader was "weak" and "choosing war again".

Putin also vowed to press on with Russia's military offensive until its war goals had been achieved.

Russia has demanded control of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region as well as sweeping political and military restrictions on its neighbour.

Kyiv and its allies have ruled the conditions as tantamount to capitulation and US-brokered peace talks have failed to bring the sides closer.

Zelensky on Thursday issued a rare direct appeal to the Russian leader.

"Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us -- and you. I am proposing a meeting," Zelensky said in an open letter. "I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting."

Putin refused however.

"I see no point in meeting. It only makes sense for the Ukrainian side to stop the advance of our armed forces. That's it. And we need agreements," Putin told Russia's flagship economic forum.

"Let the experts work, develop some solutions, and then we can meet," Putin added.

Hundreds of thousands have been killed since Putin launched his full-scale offensive -- which he calls a "special military operation" -- in February 2022.

Swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine have been destroyed and millions forced from their homes in the four-year campaign Moscow hoped would have toppled Kyiv within a matter of days.

Russia staged new deadly attacks Friday, with Ukrainian authorities saying four civilians were killed and seven wounded in Russian strikes on Mykolaivka and Druzhkivka in the Donetsk region.

- 'Some day' -

Zelensky says a summit is needed to thrash out the key issues of a peace deal.

"Unfortunately, the Russian side is choosing war again -- everyone heard today's response. A weak response. He simply doesn't want to end the war," he said after Putin rejected the call.

His proposal had won support from key allies, including US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Zelensky is to meet Macron, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz in London on Sunday in a bid to inject fresh momentum into diplomatic efforts.

Putin said the conflict would only stop when Russia's goals are met.

"Military actions will end some day, we assume. Without a doubt, they will end once we have achieved the goals we have set for ourselves," Putin told the audience of business leaders and visiting dignitaries from Russia's allies.

The ex-KGB spy also rejected claims that the Russian economy was falling apart under the high costs of the war.

The Kremlin's offensive has put Russia's finances under immense strain, with rising prices, tax hikes and two-decade-high borrowing costs hitting many citizens hard.

"We, of course, hear criticism from all sides that everything has collapsed," Putin said.

"We have descended to the same level at which eurozone countries have been living through for the past few years," the Russian leader said, adding that Russia was pursuing a "sovereign" economy.

Asked by AFP about Russia's economic woes, Putin had on Thursday channelled the US writer Mark Twain.

"Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated," he said, rejecting the idea that Russia was on the brink of a full-blown crisis.

- Russian Davos -

Putin spoke just two days after the opening of SPIEF -- once dubbed the "Russian Davos" -- was overshadowed by brazen Ukrainian drone strikes on Saint Petersburg.

Kyiv has intensified its attacks on Russia's vital energy infrastructure -- oil depots, refineries, exporting hubs -- which are threatening to dent Moscow's most important income stream.

In the early years of Putin's rule, Western investors keen to make a buck in Russia's chaotic and fast-growing economy would gather at the SPIEF to strike deals and hobnob with the Russian elite.

Now drones and machine guns are out on display.

AFP reporters saw Russian-made humanoid robots walking the venue halls, where stands promoting investment into regions annexed from Ukraine were prominent.

The guests included former Hollywood star turned Putin-backer Steven Seagal, American conspiracy theorist Candace Owens, Trump's ballroom commissioner and MPs from the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

Y.Zaher--SF-PST