Zelensky proposes face-to-face talks in open letter to Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky has called for a face-to-face meeting between himself and Vladimir Putin in a renewed bid to end the war.In an open letter to the Russian president, the Ukrainian leader said it would be "wrong to simply wait" until the Europe" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="140533" data-entity-type="event">war in Europe becomes the focus of the US's attention once more, adding peace could only come "through direct engagement between" Ukraine and Russia.He also called for a full ceasefire for the duration of proposed negotiations - something Putin ruled out earlier on Thursday.Donald Trump said on Thursday he thought "it would be great" if the two leaders met.The Kremlin confirmed it had received the letter and Putin would be briefed on it. Speaking to foreign journalists in St Petersburg, without apparently having seen the contents of the letter, Putin said he was "certainly prepared and willing to reach an agreement with Ukraine", but said certain compromises needed to be made.Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ceasefire negotiations have stalled in recent months, since the Iran war began and previous peace talks in Geneva, Abu Dhabi and Istanbul failed.