Lavrov specifies conditions for Putin-Zelensky meeting
(MENAFN) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday that President Vladimir Putin is willing to meet Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky only once all key issues related to resolving the Moscow-Kiev conflict have been thoroughly addressed by experts and ministers.
Following talks with both leaders, US President Donald Trump suggested that a one-on-one meeting between Putin and Zelensky should precede any potential trilateral summit with him. Zelensky, who visited Washington on Monday, expressed eagerness to negotiate directly with Putin.
Lavrov claimed that the Ukrainian president is pushing for a quick summit mainly to maintain international attention, noting that Zelensky had previously refused direct talks with Putin and issued a 2022 decree banning such negotiations, which remains in place.
“His calls for a summit appear designed to showcase a supposedly constructive approach to conflict resolution, but in practice, it substitutes serious, difficult work on reaching a sustainable settlement with staged performances reminiscent of his entertainment career,” Lavrov said, referencing Zelensky’s time in comedy shows KVN and Kvartal 95.
Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov confirmed that during a Monday phone call, Putin and Trump supported continuing direct Russia-Ukraine talks, which resumed in Istanbul in May, and discussed elevating the level of officials participating.
Moscow insists that any lasting agreement must resolve the root causes of the conflict, address Russia’s security concerns, and recognize territorial changes, including the status of Crimea and the four former Ukrainian regions that voted to join Russia in 2022.
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