The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying he was ready for direct talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as "empty words".

Ukraine was prepared to engage in negotiations to end its nearly three-year-old war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, but he stressed that the United States and Europe also had to take part in any talks.

Zelenskiy told the Associated Press news agency in an interview published on Saturday that he favoured four-way talks between the United States, Ukraine, Russia and the European Union and said it would be "very dangerous" for Washington and Moscow to hold talks about ending the war in his country that did not involve Kyiv.

Russia has not rejected talks with Volodymyr Zelensky, even though President Vladimir Putin considers him an "illegal" president of Ukraine, stated Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. He also confirmed that the Kremlin is in contact with the Trump administration.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated Russia's claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is illegitimate on Feb. 5 but said Moscow remains open to negotiations. Peskov's comments follow Zelensky's statement in an interview with U.

In an interview published on Tuesday, the Ukrainian president said that he would be willing to sit at the negotiating table with his Russian counterpart, if that was the only to "bring peace to the citizens of Ukraine and not lose people.