Kiev should ignore European leaders' misgivings over Moscow's offer to resume direct talks, the head of Britain's Workers Party has told RT

Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky should seize the opportunity to restart direct negotiations offered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Kiev has "a losing hand" in all areas, the leader of the Workers Party of Britain, George Galloway, has said.

In a televised address early on Sunday, Putin offered Kiev the chance to "resume the negotiations they interrupted in 2022... without any preconditions," suggesting that talks could be held on Thursday in Istanbul.

Speaking to RT on Monday, Galloway said "it's a pity that his European friends haven't told President Zelensky, as [US President] Donald Trump has told him, that this is an opportunity that simply must be grasped." According to the former British MP, "the alternatives are really quite ghastly... for everyone concerned."

Galloway added that Zelensky would be better off ignoring the "train wreck crew that retreated from Kiev in that now famous train journey at the weekend," referring to the visit to the Ukrainian capital by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

"He should not listen to the likes of Starmer and Macron" as "they don't represent anything practical," Galloway insisted. He argued that none of the European NATO member states making up the so-called "coalition of the willing" have the military and economic might to be of any significance.

Galloway added that to Russia, the fundamental question in any potential peace talks would be whether an "enduring agreement... can be reached" with the current "illegitimate" Ukrainian leader.

Zelensky's presidential term expired last May, although he has refused to hold elections, citing martial law.

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