On Friday, Russia dismissed the prospect of an imminent meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, amidst rising diplomatic tensions with Washington and stalled U.S. mediation efforts.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated, “There is no plan for a meeting” between the two leaders, coinciding with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s visit to Kyiv to discuss potential security guarantees for Ukraine.
Earlier in the week, U.S. President Donald Trump had announced that both Putin and Zelensky, who have met separately recently, were open to the idea of a summit. However, on Friday, he likened their potential meeting to “oil and water,” emphasizing the significant difficulty of bringing them together.
He further remarked to reporters in Washington that the two leaders “do not agree on much for obvious reasons.”
Lavrov weakened any hopes for direct talks between Putin and Zelensky aimed at resolving the now four-year-old conflict by questioning the legitimacy of the Ukrainian president and reiterating Moscow’s hardline demands.
In an interview aired by NBC, Lavrov mentioned that Putin is “prepared to meet with Zelensky” once an agenda for their summit is established, adding that Zelensky is “not ready at all.”
In Kyiv, Zelensky, alongside Rutte, indicated that Ukraine “does not have agreements with the Russians,” and noted that the country has only reached an understanding with Trump regarding the diplomatic path forward.
On Thursday, Zelensky accused Russia of “trying to evade a meeting,” adding that Moscow intends to continue its aggressive actions.
A Path to the Unknown
The question of potential security guarantees for Ukraine has become central to U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to mediate a peace agreement to end the conflict.
Trump previously asserted that Russia had consented to certain Western security guarantees for Kyiv.
However, Moscow subsequently expressed skepticism regarding such arrangements. Lavrov stated on Wednesday that discussing these arrangements without Russia was “fantastical and a pathway to the unknown.”
Zelensky, who would like to see foreign forces in Ukraine to deter future Russian attacks, remarked, “When Russia raises the issue of security guarantees, I honestly don’t know yet who threatens them.”
The Kremlin has long maintained that it will never accept this, citing Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO as one of the justifications for its military actions.
Lavrov told NBC that “there are numerous principles that Washington believes should be accepted, including non-NATO membership and discussions on territorial issues, to which Zelensky says no to everything.”
During his visit to Kyiv, where air raid sirens were heard throughout the capital, Rutte emphasized the need for security guarantees to ensure “Russia’s commitment to any agreement and that it does not attempt to seize another square kilometer of Ukrainian territory.”