Foreign Minister of Russia says there is no Putin-Zelensky meeting schedule as the agenda is not ready; Zelensky: Not afraid to meet with any leader
On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said during an interview that a possible summit between Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky currently has no agenda and accused Zelensky of saying "no" to everything.
Lavrov, speaking on an NBC program, pointed out that Putin has clearly stated that he is willing to meet with Zelensky to discuss a possible agreement to end the Russia-Ukraine war, provided that there is a suitable agenda. Lavrov continued that there is currently no suitable agenda.
Both sides are trying to show US President Trump that they are ready to reach a peace agreement, while Trump had previously expressed his desire to facilitate such an agreement. Meanwhile, both sides accuse each other of lacking sincerity and not being ready for genuine negotiations.
Lavrov told NBC in the interview: "Putin is prepared to meet with Zelensky when the summit agenda is ready, but this agenda has not been prepared at all," and added that no meeting has been scheduled yet.
Lavrov said that Russia agreed to show flexibility on a series of issues raised by Trump at the recent US-Russia summit, but accused Ukraine of not showing the same flexibility in subsequent talks with Trump and his European allies in Washington.
Lavrov claimed: "He (Trump) clearly stated - everyone knows it, Washington believes several principles must be accepted, including (Ukraine) not joining NATO, including discussing territorial issues, and Zelensky said 'no' to all issues, as I said, even refusing to repeal legislation banning the Russian language. How can we meet with someone who pretends to be a leader?"
Trump had set an August 8 deadline, requiring Putin to agree to a ceasefire, or else Russia and its oil-buying countries would face new sanctions. However, Trump agreed to meet with Putin at a summit held in Alaska last Friday.
Since then, Russia has taken almost no action, maintaining most of its long-standing demands, while proposing to freeze the frontline in the two Ukrainian regions it claims sovereignty over and expressing willingness to return relatively smaller territories it controls in Ukraine.
Three sources familiar with the views of the Kremlin's top officials told Reuters that Putin wants Ukraine to give up all territory in the Donbas region, abandon the claim to join NATO, maintain neutrality, and prevent Western troops from entering Ukraine for peacekeeping. Zelensky has stated that he does not want to "give away" any Ukrainian territory to Russia.
In Kyiv, Zelensky criticized that the Kremlin is doing everything possible to ensure that his meeting with Putin will not take place. He also called on Ukraine's allies to impose new sanctions on Russia if the latter is unwilling to end the war.
Zelensky introduced on Friday, during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg in Kyiv, that they discussed security guarantees for Ukraine from other countries. Zelensky stated that these guarantees should be similar to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which considers an attack on one NATO member as an attack on all members.
Zelensky emphasized: "This is the beginning of a difficult task, and it is not easy, because the guarantees include what our partners can provide for Ukraine, as well as what the Ukrainian army should be like, and where we can find opportunities to keep the Ukrainian army strong."
Zelensky also urged his allies to pressure Russia to make it "at least in a minimum positive state." Zelensky has repeatedly called for Putin to meet with him, and Trump also stated that during the visit of European leaders to Washington, Putin had agreed to hold such a meeting when he spoke with him.
Zelensky emphasized on Friday: "Russia is doing everything it can to prevent this meeting. Unlike Russia, Ukraine is not afraid to meet with any leader."
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1841203362402378/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.