MOSCOW: Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said there is no agenda for a potential summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing Zelenskyy of saying "no to everything".
Speaking to NBC, Lavrov said Putin had made clear he was ready to meet Zelensky to discuss a possible deal to end the war provided there was a proper agenda for such a session, something he said was lacking for now.
"Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy when the agenda would be ready for a summit. And this agenda is not ready at all," Lavrov said.
Lavrov said Russia had agreed to show flexibility on a number of issues raised by US President Trump at a US-Russia summit, but accused Ukraine of not showing the same flexibility in talks with Trump and European allies that followed. "He (Trump) clearly indicated - it was very clear to everybody that there are several principles which Washington believes must be accepted, including no Nato membership (for Ukraine), including the discussion of territorial issues, and Zelensky said no to everything," said Lavrov. "He even said no to...cancelling legislation banning the Russian language. How can we meet with a person who is pretending to be a leader?"
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said Friday Russia was doing everything it could to stop a meeting between him and Putin from taking place, and urged Ukraine's allies to put fresh sanctions on Moscow if it shows no interest in peace.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said they had discussed security guarantees for Ukraine by other states.
There are "two layers" of guarantees being discussed, Rutte said, adding the first is to make Ukraine's army stronger and second involves guarantees from allies. agencies
Speaking to NBC, Lavrov said Putin had made clear he was ready to meet Zelensky to discuss a possible deal to end the war provided there was a proper agenda for such a session, something he said was lacking for now.
"Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy when the agenda would be ready for a summit. And this agenda is not ready at all," Lavrov said.
Lavrov said Russia had agreed to show flexibility on a number of issues raised by US President Trump at a US-Russia summit, but accused Ukraine of not showing the same flexibility in talks with Trump and European allies that followed. "He (Trump) clearly indicated - it was very clear to everybody that there are several principles which Washington believes must be accepted, including no Nato membership (for Ukraine), including the discussion of territorial issues, and Zelensky said no to everything," said Lavrov. "He even said no to...cancelling legislation banning the Russian language. How can we meet with a person who is pretending to be a leader?"
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said Friday Russia was doing everything it could to stop a meeting between him and Putin from taking place, and urged Ukraine's allies to put fresh sanctions on Moscow if it shows no interest in peace.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said they had discussed security guarantees for Ukraine by other states.
There are "two layers" of guarantees being discussed, Rutte said, adding the first is to make Ukraine's army stronger and second involves guarantees from allies. agencies
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