'Ukraine not interested in long-term settlement': Russia says Putin ready to meet Zelensky but raises issue of his 'legitimacy'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Ukraine not interested in long-term settlement': Russia says Putin ready to meet Zelensky but raises issue of his 'legitimacy'")
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky Photograph: (Reuters)
Russian President Putin is open to meeting Zelensky, but Russia demands key issues be resolved first. Trump, after meeting Putin, is pushing for a trilateral summit to end the Ukraine conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to meeting Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, but Moscow insists that key issues must be resolved in advance, Russia’s foreign minister said on Thursday (August 21).
Trump pushes for trilateral summit
Putin met US President Donald Trump in Alaska last Friday in the first Russia–US summit in more than four years. The two leaders discussed ways to end what has become Europe’s deadliest conflict since the Second World War. Trump later told reporters he had started arranging a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, followed by a trilateral summit involving Washington.
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Asked if Putin was willing to meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov replied, “Our president has repeatedly said that he is ready to meet, including with Zelensky.”
However, he added, “With the understanding that all issues that require consideration at the highest level will be well worked out, and experts and ministers will prepare appropriate recommendations. And, of course, with the understanding that when and if, hopefully, when it comes to signing future agreements, the issue of the legitimacy of the person who signs these agreements from the Ukrainian side will be resolved.”
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Moscow has repeatedly questioned Zelensky’s mandate since his presidential term expired in May 2024. Kyiv maintains that its leadership remains valid as elections cannot be held during wartime.
Watch: Putin-Zelensky meeting might never happen! Here’s why
Russian officials warn that any deal signed by Zelensky could be disputed later if a new Ukrainian leader claims he had no legal authority. Zelensky, however, has urged Washington to deliver a “strong reaction” if Moscow refuses a bilateral meeting.
European leaders remain doubtful of Putin’s interest in peace but are seeking ways to guarantee Ukraine’s security with minimal US involvement.
Lavrov accused Kyiv and its Western allies of blocking progress, “They are not interested in a sustainable, fair, long-term settlement,” he said, alleging that European powers want Russia’s “strategic defeat”.
Istanbul draft resurfaces
Lavrov argued that the best basis for future talks was the draft framework discussed in Istanbul in 2022, which proposed Ukraine’s neutrality in exchange for international security guarantees from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Ukraine rejected that plan at the time, saying it would effectively give Moscow veto power over any militarysupport.
