DOMINANT ANGLE
Helsinki sees Zelensky's offer and the Kremlin's refusal as a new episode in a diplomacy of posturing, where the choice of location — Miami, Moscow or Geneva — is just as important as the substance of the negotiations.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Zelensky, in an interview with Deutsche Welle broadcast on Saturday, says he is ready to meet Putin at the G20 in Miami in December: "We must come. We must meet, discuss and make decisions"
- 02
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov responded "Se on mahdotonta" (it's impossible) to AFP from New Delhi, adding that Moscow has not yet decided if Putin will attend the G20 and that Putin is only willing to receive Zelensky in Moscow
- 03
Kyiv is preparing for a resumption in October of trilateral talks with Russia and the United States, the last session having taken place in February in Geneva; US emissaries Witkoff and Kushner visited Moscow and Kyiv this week for the first time since February
ANALYSIS
Helsinki, September 14, 2026. Just a few kilometers from the Russian border, the Finnish press is closely following the latest episode in the diplomatic stalemate between Kyiv and Moscow. In an interview with German channel Deutsche Welle broadcast on Saturday, Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he is ready to meet Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Miami in December, if both leaders are invited. "Yes, of course. We must come. We must meet, discuss and make decisions," he said, according to Iltalehti.
The Kremlin's response was not long in coming. From New Delhi, where he is accompanying Putin to the BRICS summit, spokesman Dmitri Peskov deemed the meeting "impossible" in comments to AFP, while specifying that Moscow had not yet made a decision on Putin's participation in the G20. The only location considered by the Kremlin remains Moscow: "We are ready to receive him in Moscow," Peskov repeated. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov drove the point home on Saturday, recalling that an invitation had already been sent to Zelensky: "If he wants to meet, let him come."
Zelensky himself has ruled out this option: "He [Putin] can come to Kyiv. I cannot go to Moscow, when my country is targeted every day by missiles and attacks. I cannot go to the capital of this terrorist." Helsingin Sanomat recalls that Putin had already declined a similar proposal in June.
Beyond the exchange of statements, the Finnish press reports that Kyiv is preparing for a resumption of trilateral talks with Russia and the United States in October - the last session dating back to February in Geneva. US emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Moscow and then Kyiv this week, a first since February. Helsingin Sanomat also notes that Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping, who met with Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, have offered their mediation, which was received "positively" according to Peskov, cited by the Tass agency.
For the Finnish press, the question of the location - Miami, Moscow or Geneva - crystallizes both the political impasse and the substance of the upcoming negotiations.
