After Washington summit, Lavrov wants to impose conditions for any meeting between leaders

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov demanded security guarantees and insisted that Russia's interests be taken into account before any pact is reached to permanently end to the war in Ukraine.

"If Russia's security interests are not respected, nor are the rights of Russians and Russian speakers living in Ukraine fully respected, no long-term agreement can be envisaged," Lavrov said Tuesday in an interview cited by AFP.

Lavrov was also asked about a possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with Donald Trump acting as mediator.

In this regard, the head of Russian diplomacy said there is indeed a possibility that such a summit could take place in the future, but stressed that all details would need to be ‘thoroughly’ prepared.

Sources close to the negotiations told AFP that Putin proposed to Trump holding the trilateral meeting in Moscow. Zelensky, however, firmly rejected the idea, responding with a blunt "no."

Meanwhile, leaders allied with Zelensky, belonging to the so-called "coalition of volunteers" held a virtual meeting on Tuesday to discuss issues related to the war in Ukraine.

Participating in the virtual meeting were French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.