Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has stated that there are no plans for a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, citing the absence of a ready agenda for such a summit.
Despite US President Donald Trump’s push for a swift summit to end the war, Lavrov emphasized that Putin remains willing to meet with Zelenskyy once a clear agenda is established.
In an exclusive interview on “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker, Lavrov expressed that the Ukrainian leader had rejected several key points proposed by Trump, including no NATO membership for Ukraine and discussions on territorial issues.
“President Putin said clearly that he is ready to meet provided this meeting is really going to have an agenda, presidential agenda,” Lavrov said. He further questioned Zelenskyy’s legitimacy as a leader, referencing Ukraine’s legislation prohibiting the Russian language, which Putin has long claimed is a form of genocide against Russian speakers in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
Lavrov’s comments came after Russia launched one of its largest aerial attacks of the war, hitting targets across Ukraine, including an American electronics business.
Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to “wriggle out” of holding a meeting, alleging that Moscow is continuing “massive attacks” on Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president has urged a strong reaction from the United States, including tougher sanctions and new economic pressure, if Putin refuses to meet.
Trump had previously suggested that the US would help provide security guarantees in any settlement with Russia, clarifying that these guarantees would not include American ground forces but could involve air support.
Lavrov, however, emphasized that any attempt to resolve the issue without Russian involvement would be “a utopia, a road to nowhere.”
Despite this, Russia has agreed to show flexibility on some points raised by Trump during their meeting in Alaska.
The White House has been working to secure a summit location and date following Trump’s meeting with Putin and subsequent talks with Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington.
However, Russia has signaled that it is in no rush for a Putin-Zelenskyy one-on-one meeting. Zelenskyy has insisted that any security guarantees for Ukraine should be structured similarly to NATO’s core principle in Article 5, which considers an attack on one member as an attack on all.
As the situation continues to unfold, it remains uncertain whether a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy will take place. Lavrov’s statements suggest that Russia is holding out for a more concrete agenda, while Zelenskyy’s comments imply that Ukraine is pushing for meaningful action to end the conflict.