Putin says he is ready to talk on the phone with Zelensky. Kremlin awaits Kiev's call after resuming contacts with European leaders

The Kremlin says Vladimir Putin is willing to talk by phone with Volodymyr Zelensky, but says the initiative for such a contact has not yet come from the Ukrainian leader. The message was sent on Friday by the Russian presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, a few days after Putin had a conversation with the leaders of Finland and Norway, his first discussion about Ukraine with European leaders after a long break. Moscow says the readiness for dialogue also includes French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, while information appearing in the Western press indicates that Putin maintains his claims regarding Ukrainian territories unchanged, UA News reports.

"Putin is open to a phone conversation, but Zelensky has not called him yet", said Dmitry Peskov.

The Kremlin spokesman did not specify when such a discussion might take place or whether Moscow would condition any contact on the fulfillment of any preconditions. However, Peskov noted that the same availability applies to potential talks between Putin and Emmanuel Macron or Friedrich Merz.

The Kremlin's message follows a phone call on October 27 between Vladimir Putin, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store. The Nordic leaders' move has drawn criticism from some European Union leaders.

The discussion represented the Russian leader's first contact with European leaders on the topic of Ukraine since July last year, when Putin spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron.

According to the Financial Times, instead of focusing on concrete solutions to end the war, Putin allegedly used a significant part of the conversation for an extensive exposition on medieval Slavic history and what the Kremlin calls “the initial reasons for the conflict.” Three people familiar with the discussion said, on condition of anonymity, that Stubb and Store did not interrupt the Russian leader, trying to understand how willing he was to have a real dialogue with Europe.

The Finnish government, however, disputed the report. A spokeswoman confirmed that Helsinki had asked the Financial Times to correct the article, but the British publication refused, saying it was “convinced of the accuracy of the journalistic report.”

Beyond resuming contacts with European leaders, Moscow's position on the conditions for ending the war has not changed. A source close to the Kremlin told Reuters that Putin reiterated during the talks his demand that Ukraine cede the entire Donbas region, which the Russian army has failed to fully conquer even after almost five years of war.

In the public communication regarding the call, the Kremlin said that Putin accused NATO states and the European Union of promoting a "policy of prolonging" the war.

Later, Russian presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov stated that if Alexander Stubb and Jonas Gahr Store want to contact Vladimir Putin again, the Kremlin leader "will always respond."