Kremlin says Putin ready to speak to Zelenskyy ‘if necessary’

The U.S. and Russia are holding talks in Saudi Arabia about the war in Ukraine – it’s the first in-person meeting since Moscow’s full-scale invasion three years ago, the BBC writes.

Neither Ukraine nor Europe are invited to the meeting. The Kremlin says Vladimir Putin is prepared to speak to Volodymyr Zelenskyy “if necessary”; Zelenskyy has repeatedly said he won’t recognize a peace deal negotiated without Ukraine.