President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s open letter offering face-to-face peace talks to end the war in Ukraine was addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin but meant to echo through the corridors of this week’s St Petersburg investment forum, and beyond.
Zelenskiy published the letter on Thursday evening as Putin briefed foreign news editors at Russia’s premier business event. The previous day, Ukrainian drones had hit an oil terminal in St Petersburg, sending clouds of smoke billowing into the sky near the venue.
Ukraine believes sections of Russia’s elite – “officials, businessmen, and Russia’s partners” – want to see an end to a conflict that has left its $3 trillion economy stagnant, according to one Ukrainian official familiar with the letter.
The glitzy gathering has highlighted rival visions within Russia over the four-year-old conflict.
While some participants have said Russia should fight on and gird for long-term confrontation with the West, others have emphasized the economic advantages of ending a war coming closer by the week.
