President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky considers a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin unpromising for ending the war. In his opinion, Moscow may use such contact as a pretext to refuse a personal meeting, which is necessary to reach concrete agreements.

Zelensky said this on November 3 during a joint press conference with German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin, answering a journalist's question about possible negotiations with Putin.

According to the Ukrainian president, the Russian side may take advantage of a phone call to avoid further direct contacts at the highest level.

Zelensky said that instead of discussing concrete steps to end the war, he expects another 'historical lecture' from Putin. He considers this format of communication ineffective.

The president stressed that to achieve peace it is necessary to move to substantive negotiations, at which the parties can discuss concrete solutions and conditions for a ceasefire.

“If we want to end the war, we must meet and make the first step — a ceasefire”, — Zelensky said.

He noted that a ceasefire is possible even without a personal meeting of the heads of state if the Russian side is really interested in such a solution. However, according to the Ukrainian president's assessment, Moscow has not yet demonstrated such readiness.

Zelensky also commented on the possibility of negotiations in Moscow or Kyiv. He called such mutual invitations destructive, as he does not consider them a real way to organize a meeting.

The Ukrainian president explained that Kyiv does not invite Putin because it does not expect him to come. Similarly, he rejected the Russian side's proposal to hold negotiations in Moscow, calling such an initiative unacceptable.

At the same time, Zelensky confirmed Ukraine's readiness to participate in trilateral negotiations mediated by the United States if their goal is real steps towards de-escalation and ending the war.

Earlier, U.S. Special Representative Steve Witkoff reported on the preparation of a new round of negotiations between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States, planned for November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi.

The Ukrainian side intends to discuss security guarantees, an end to attacks on energy infrastructure, the safety of shipping in the Black Sea, prisoner exchanges, and preparations for negotiations at the level of state leaders at this meeting.

Based on materials from: Office of the President of Ukraine, Ukrainska Pravda, Ukrinform.