Russia’s State Duma assessed the likelihood of a Putin–Zelensky meeting

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha’s statement that President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin is false.

This was stated to News.ru by Aleksei Chepa, first deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma’s committee on international affairs.

“In my view, for now this meeting between Putin and Zelensky has not been prepared, if we are speaking theoretically about whether it could take place. Besides, only yesterday Sybiha said the following: ‘First Ukraine will sign a peace agreement with the Americans, and only then will the U.S. sign it with Russia,’” Chepa said.

The lawmaker stressed that the Ukrainian foreign minister is manipulating words, so the level of trust in them is extremely low.

Earlier, Sybiha said that Zelensky is ready to meet with Putin to discuss territorial issues and the status of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. According to Sybiha, Ukraine is counting on signing a 20-point peace plan provided it is agreed. The minister emphasized that there are still “mismatches” on the more sensitive points. When asked to clarify whether this refers to territories and the ZNPP, he answered in the affirmative.