Top diplomat: Putin to meet Zelenskyy only when agenda is set Not Yet

On August 22, Russia’s Foreign Minister indicated that no meeting is currently planned between President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, casting doubt on U.S. efforts to broker a summit aimed at ending the conflict.

“Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy when the agenda is ready for a summit, and this agenda is not ready at all,” Sergey Lavrov told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker in an exclusive interview.

The White House has been pursuing arrangements for a summit following President Donald Trump’s recent meetings with Putin in Alaska, as well as subsequent talks with Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington.

However, Russia has signalled that it is in no hurry to convene a one-on-one meeting, while also escalating its military campaign with one of the largest aerial attacks of the war, striking multiple targets across Ukraine, including a U.S.-owned electronics factory.

“President Putin said clearly that he is ready to meet, provided this meeting is really going to have an agenda, presidential agenda,” Lavrov said, suggesting that Ukraine is obstructing progress toward a peace deal. “President Trump suggested, after Anchorage, several points which we share and on some of them, we agreed to be…to show some flexibility.”

Lavrov added: “When President Trump brought … those issues to the meeting in Washington, it was very clear to everybody that there are several principles which Washington believes must be accepted, including no NATO membership, including the discussion of territorial issues, and Zelenskyy said no to everything.”

He further criticised Ukraine’s position, saying: “He even said no to, as I said, to cancelling legislation prohibiting the Russian language. How can we meet with a person who is pretending to be a leader?”

While Ukraine has not outlawed the Russian language, Putin has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that Kyiv committed genocide against Russian speakers in the Donbas region and has sought to question Zelenskyy’s legitimacy, despite his democratic election in 2019.

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, accused Russia of attempting to “wriggle out” of a meeting while continuing “massive attacks” on Ukraine. He reiterated his readiness for talks with Putin and called for a “strong reaction from the United States,” including tougher sanctions and new economic pressure if Moscow refuses.

Lavrov’s statements coincided with Russia’s largest assault since early July, involving nearly 600 drones and 40 ballistic and cruise missiles. The attack hit western Ukraine, including a U.S.-owned Flex electronics factory, where at least 15 workers were injured.

Trump commented on the attacks via Truth Social, expressing sympathy for Kyiv’s lack of equivalent weaponry and comparing Ukraine to “a sports team with a fantastic defence, but is not allowed to play offence,” adding, “There is no chance of winning!”

Zelenskyy described Trump’s observation as “absolutely right” and stressed the need for comprehensive protection of Ukrainians, while continuing diplomatic efforts.

Meanwhile, talks on postwar security guarantees for Ukraine progressed this week, with defence chiefs from the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Finland, and Ukraine discussing potential protections Kyiv’s allies could offer. These proposals will now be reviewed by national security advisors.

Trump has indicated that the U.S. would provide security guarantees in any settlement with Russia, clarifying that these would not include American ground forces but could involve air support.

Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s stance on the issue, saying that while Russia supports “truly reliable” security guarantees for Ukraine, any attempt to resolve the matter without Russian involvement is “a utopia, a road to nowhere.”

The conflict, which escalated with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, builds on tensions that have persisted since 2014, following Moscow’s illegal annexation of Crimea.

By Aghakazim Guliyev