Speaking at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin described Zelensky\u2019s open letter proposing the meeting as \u201cboorish\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it a way to create conditions for personal meetings and talks, or create an environment which makes any personal meetings impossible?\u201d Putin said at a question-and-answer session at his annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum. \u201cI think it\u2019s the second.\u201d<\/p>\n
Putin added that a Russian businessman whom he didn\u2019t identify travelled to Kyiv last month and met with Zelensky to hear his offer of a personal meeting.<\/p>\n
However, Putin said that he currently sees \u201cno point\u201d in such a meeting, especially after a May 22 drone attack by Ukraine on a college dormitory in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region that Moscow said killed 21 and wounded scores of others.<\/p>\n
In response to Zelensky\u2019s barbs about his age and long stay in power, the 73-year-old Putin pointed at other global leaders who are older, adding that \u201cthe main thing isn\u2019t age; the main thing is the ability to work\u201d.<\/p>\n
![\"Ukrainian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelensky-DGKA72HVFNH2DBBOILKZ5TBYDI.jpg\")
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
He also mocked Zelensky’s rocky Oval Office meeting in 2025 and thanked US President Donald Trump for \u201ceducating\u201d Zelensky \u201cbefore the eyes of the whole world\u201d and teaching him a proper dress code.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is still a lot to be done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Zelensky acknowledged shifting US priorities, saying it would be wrong to simply wait for the Trump administration to return its attention to ending the fighting in Ukraine while it remains heavily focused on the Iran war.<\/p>\n
In Washington, Trump said it \u201cwould be great\u201d if Putin and Zelensky meet.<\/p>\n
Putin has previously offered for Zelensky to come to Moscow for talks, an offer that the Ukrainian leader pointedly rejected. Putin said last month he doesn\u2019t exclude a meeting in a third country, but only when there is a deal to sign.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Putin again rejected Zelensky\u2019s push for an immediate ceasefire, arguing that Moscow wants a comprehensive settlement, not a temporary truce.<\/p>\n
Putin said Russia is open for a compromise on Ukraine in line with understandings reached at his last year\u2019s summit with Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, adding that Ukraine needs to accept them to make a deal to end the conflict.<\/p>\n
![\"In](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/in-this-photo-provided-by-ukraines-93rd-kholodnyi-yar-separa-UZ6UHONBNZGR5BBM3DIMUQ4MTI.jpg\")
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In this photo provided by Ukraine’s 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, a soldier reacts as an MRLS BM-21 “Grad” fires at the Russian positions near Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
\u201cNaturally, the Ukrainian side would like us to suspend the advances made by Russian troops,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it would be better to end the war by agreeing to the compromises that were discussed in Anchorage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about Iran, Putin voiced hope for an eventual deal to secure lasting peace. He shrugged off claims that Moscow provided Iran with satellite images, saying that Tehran could use widely available commercial ones.<\/p>\n
“As for weapons, Iran hasn\u2019t asked us for them, and we haven\u2019t supplied any weapons to Iran,\u201d he said, adding that Russia stands ready to take enriched uranium for storage as part of a potential peace deal, and that Moscow has stayed in contact with Iran, the US and Israel.<\/p>\n
Global turbulence<\/p>\n
![\"Russian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/russian-president-vladimir-putin-meets-with-representatives-OM6L5FAOBFCUVMSABQIFMYBFNA.jpg\")
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Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with representatives of international news agencies on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
In a speech earlier at the forum, Putin said developing countries have gained an increasingly important role in the global economy, while the share of output by Western countries has shrunk.<\/p>\n
He accused the West of undermining the global economy and finances with unilateral sanctions. By freezing Russian assets abroad through sanctions, Western nations eroded trust in their own currencies, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sanctions and blocking of Russia\u2019s sovereign reserves have irreversibly impacted the standing of international currencies, the dollar and the euro,\u201d he said. \u201cJust like Russia, any other country could lose access to their legitimate assets in dollars or euros, as well as Western financial and payment systems.\u201d<\/p>\n
He alleged that high state debt had helped undermine global trust in Western institutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe roots of the current global turbulence lie in the transition from a vertical, hierarchical model, which served the interests of a small number of states, to a more complex, distributed and multipolar one,\u201d Putin said. \u201cRussia views global changes not only as a threat but also as immense opportunities. And to capitalise on them, we aim to act swiftly and pragmatically.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Russian leader said the world needed a \u201cmodern, flexible and responsible financial architecture \u2014 free from risks, bans and barriers\u201d.<\/p>\n
Putin stresses Russia’s macroeconomic stability<\/p>\n
![\"Russian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/russian-president-vladimir-putin-left-shakes-hands-with-tanz-JQSRCTTLDVDOTM26EYMJEOQ6MY.jpg\")
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Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, prior to a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Friday, June 5, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Putin played down Russia\u2019s economic slowdown and sought to emphasise its macroeconomic stability. He noted that Russia\u2019s state debt is a fraction of that in Western countries and its budget deficit is considerably smaller, compared with the West.<\/p>\n
The forum comes at a time when Russia\u2019s economic outlook has clouded amid the conflict in Ukraine. The government raised taxes and increased domestic borrowing to keep its budget deficit under control.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Putin told heads of international media on the forum’s sidelines that it was an exaggeration to say Russia’s economy was struggling. He noted that his government had taken deliberate steps to cool the economy to keep inflation under control.<\/p>\n
Putin has used the St Petersburg forum, likened to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to showcase his country\u2019s economic advances and encourage foreign investment. While Western officials and business leaders have stayed away after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, Russia has sought guests from elsewhere to underline its declared goal of promoting a \u201cmultipolar world\u201d.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia sent a large delegation this year, and the presidents of Uzbekistan and Tanzania and vice president of China also gave speeches. A US official, Rodney Mims Cook Jr, head of the US Commission of Fine Arts, is attending for the first time in years.<\/p>\n
Cook was singled out in the audience during a question-and-answer session following Putin’s speech. Cook praised the beauty of St Petersburg, and Putin thanked him for the remarks about his hometown and asked to convey his greetings to Trump.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a-plumes-of-black-smoke-is-seen-over-the-port-of-st-petersbu-RJCHTG6T2FFJRIFX2X2XZSR6PU.jpg\")
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A plumes of black smoke is seen over the port of St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, after a Ukrainian drone attack. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n