Putin not planning meeting with Zelenskyy, says Lavrov

Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated.

“I think the likelihood of a Zelenskyy-Putin meeting before the end of August is zero. In the future, the chances are extremely small or nonexistent. A summit between Putin and Zelenskyy is no more than Trump’s fantasy. He either misunderstood Putin’s position or has been misled,” Lavrov said.

Earlier, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov suggested that Putin and Trump discussed the idea of “raising the level of representation” in negotiations over the Russia-Ukraine war. Ushakov did not clarify what he meant by “raising the level” or comment on the possibility of a direct meeting between the two leaders. Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has insisted that Putin had agreed to a bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy.