Speaking to US NBC News network, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrovsaid on Friday (22.08.2025) that there is no meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodimir Zelenski.
“President Vladimir Putin is ready to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodimir Zelenski when there is a truly defined agenda for such a meeting. And today this is not the case, “said Sergei Lavrov. The leader of Russian diplomacy implied that it is Kiev that prevents discussions, delaying the prospect of a peace agreement.
These statements contradict what Donald Trump said. After meeting Vladimir Putin in Alaska and Volodimir Zelenski at the White House, the US president had said he was preparing a meeting of the two leaders. However, so far, neither a date nor a place have been set. Moscow insists that such a meeting must be “prepared with the utmost attention”.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov:
There is no meeting planned, I am not challenging this.
Putin is ready to meet with Zelensky when the agenda would be ready for a summit. This agenda is not ready at all. pic.twitter.com/HhjjR06a7b
— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 22, 2025
Zelenski accuses Moscow of sabotaging every meeting
From Kiev, the Ukrainian president accused Russia of doing everything to prevent a private meeting with Vladimir Putin. Next to NATO Secretary -General Mark Rutte argued that if Russia does not show a will to end the invasion, then Ukraine’s allies should impose new sanctions.
He also recalled that his country needs security guarantees corresponding to Article 5 of NATO, which provides that an attack on a member state is equivalent to attacking everyone. In this context, Turkey proposed to participate in the Guarantees System, in particular responsibility for safety in the Black Sea.
Zelenski added that the current number of F-16 fighters available in Ukraine is “not enough” to ensure the country’s security. And he addressed a sharp tone in Moscow: “When Russia talks about security guarantees, I do not understand who is supposed to threaten it. After all, they attacked us. “
A meeting still in the air
Nevertheless, the Ukrainian president continues to declare that a bilateral meeting could take place “in one or two weeks”, which would be his first with Putin since 2019.
Zelenski has proposed Switzerland, Austria or Turkey as possible places, but excluding Hungary, which he considers too close to Kremlin.