Russia says Putin is ready to meet with Zelensky only after all issues are worked out

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky only after all issues have been thoroughly worked out.

This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, according to Russian media.

He also made it clear that Moscow does not want to sign any agreements with Zelensky because of his alleged “illegitimacy.”

“Putin is ready to meet with Zelensky only if all the issues requiring discussion at the highest level are well prepared. In the event of reaching the stage of signing agreements with Ukraine, the question of the legitimacy of Kyiv’s representative would have to be resolved,” Lavrov said.

It should be recalled that yesterday Donald Trump announced that preparations for a Zelensky–Putin meeting were already underway.

Lavrov noted that Zelensky has not repealed his own decree that prohibits Ukraine from holding negotiations with Putin. He also expressed doubt about Zelensky’s intentions.

Russia also “considers the principle of collective provision of guarantees for Ukraine to be relevant,” Lavrov said.

According to him, during the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin in Alaska, “significant progress was made in defining the outlines and parameters of a settlement of the conflict around Ukraine.”

Lavrov again stated that for Russia the presence of foreign troops in Ukraine is “completely unacceptable.”

It should be noted that Russia has proposed itself and China as among the guarantors of Ukraine’s security. Zelensky has already rejected Beijing. The president said that Ukraine wants to “receive an understanding of the architecture of security guarantees from the United States” within the next 7–10 days.