Russia: 'No meeting planned' between Putin and Zelensky
Lavrov criticized this week’s White House meeting, accusing European leaders of attempting to “clumsily” pressure Trump into changing his stance on Ukraine.
Photo collage of Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Ukraine's Volodymir Zelensky (R).
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday that "there is no meeting planned" between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, despite U.S. attempts to organize a summit.
Lavrov told Meet the Press NBC News moderator Kristen Welker in an exclusive interview that Putin "is ready to meet with Zelensky when an agenda for the summit is ready."
Days earlier, President Donald Trump fueled speculation about a possible summit by saying that the two leaders had agreed to meet following Zelensky's visit to the White House on Monday, accompanied by his European allies.
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Europe's "clumsiness"
Lavrov criticized this week’s White House meeting, accusing European leaders of trying to “clumsily” pressure Trump to change his position on Ukraine, in line with what he agreed on with Putin at a summit in Alaska last Friday.
The Russian top diplomat stated that Washington wants the parties to accept several “principles,” including a guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO and negotiations over territorial issues.
“Zelensky said no to all of this,” Lavrov reiterated, suggesting that Ukraine itself was blocking progress toward a peace agreement.
Trump promised that if he returned to the White House in January, he could quickly end the conflict in Ukraine, which began in February 2022, despite little progress so far.
The White House has been working to set the date and venue for a summit following Trump’s meeting with Putin in Alaska and his subsequent talks with Zelensky and European leaders in Washington. However, Russia has signaled that it is in no rush for a one-on-one meeting between the two leaders.
Zelenski says he is "ready" for a meeting with Putin
He has also sought to cast doubt on the legitimacy of Zelensky, who was democratically elected as Ukraine’s president in 2019.
Zelensky, for his part, said Thursday that Russia is trying to “wriggle out” of holding a meeting, accusing it of continuing “massive attacks” against Ukraine. He emphasized that he is “ready” to meet with Putin and called for a strong response from the United States, including tougher sanctions and additional economic pressure, if Putin refuses.
Lavrov's comments came after Russia launched its biggest attack since early July, firing nearly 600 drones and 40 ballistic and cruise missiles overnight Thursday, including on a U.S.-owned Flex electronics factory in western Ukraine, where at least 15 workers were injured.
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