Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected Russian leader Vladimir Putin's offer to hold talks in Moscow, saying he would only travel to the Russian capital "on a rocket," DPA reports.
When asked repeatedly by a Russian state television journalist on the sidelines of the annual general debate of the UN General Assembly when he would come to Moscow, Zelensky responded, using a Russian expletive: "On a rocket, damn it!" (in the original the word is "blyad" - ed.).
The video clip was widely distributed by Ukrainian and Russian media, with the Russian media censoring the swear word.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who is part of the Russian delegation in New York, mocked Zelensky over the video, suggesting that he feared a fatal end if he traveled to Moscow.
Yesterday, Zelensky met with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the general debate of the UN General Assembly to discuss efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022. As expected, no concrete results were announced after the meeting.
Zelensky has repeatedly stressed that he wants to meet with Putin to discuss a solution to the conflict. However, the Russian president said that he would only agree to a meeting in Moscow — a request that Zelensky rejects not only for security reasons but also to avoid creating the impression that Kiev is subservient to Moscow.