Putin Rejects Zelensky's Open Letter as 'Rude' — Sees No Point in Meeting — Schröder Backchannel at Kremlin — Day 1,563

On June 5-6, 2026 — in response to Zelensky's June 4 open letter proposing a direct bilateral meeting and immediate ceasefire — Vladimir Putin flatly rejected the proposal, calling the letter 'rude' and stating he saw 'no point' in meeting Zelensky before a comprehensive deal was already agreed. Putin reiterated Moscow's position that Ukraine must accept the framework from the 2025 Anchorage Trump-Putin summit — which Ukraine has rejected as it involves ceding occupied territories. Trump said it would be 'great' if the two leaders met but added both sides 'needed to make compromises.' On June 6, Putin separately held a private, undisclosed meeting at the Kremlin with former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder — who has maintained personal ties to Putin throughout the war and has been floated as a potential back-channel mediator between Russia and European states. A Kremlin aide described the meeting as 'good and friendly.' EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas immediately rejected Schröder's potential mediating role, saying he would be 'sitting on both sides of the table' given his extensive financial ties to Russian state energy firms (Rosneft, Gazprom). Separately, European leaders Macron, Merz, and Starmer were scheduled to meet Zelensky in London at an upcoming summit to coordinate military support and diplomatic strategy — in contrast to Schröder's informal Kremlin channel.