Newsletters
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said President Vladimir Putin conveyed Russia's readiness to continue direct peace negotiations with Ukraine during his latest phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, though no Putin-Zelenskyy meeting is currently scheduled.
"President Putin received the call of President Trump after that meeting, and he clearly stated that we are ready to continue the negotiations, direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations, which started in Istanbul and already had three rounds convened there," Lavrov said in an interview with NBC News aired Sunday.
The phone call followed a meeting in the Oval Office between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, which came after Putin and Trump held a summit in Alaska on Aug. 15.
Despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, Lavrov clarified Friday that no meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy is scheduled.
"There is no meeting planned," Lavrov told NBC. "Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy when the agenda would be ready for a summit. And this agenda is not ready at all."
Lavrov explained that Putin told Trump potential high-level meetings, especially between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, must be "very well prepared."
"And for this, we suggested to raise the level of delegations who were meeting and will be meeting in Istanbul to address specific issues which need to be brought to the attention of President Putin and Zelenskyy," Lavrov said.
Istanbul has hosted three rounds of renewed peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv—on May 16, June 2 and July 23—which produced prisoner swaps and led to an exchange of draft memoranda outlining both sides' positions for a potential peace deal.
Lavrov said Russia proposed creating three working groups during the latest Istanbul talks to address humanitarian, military and political issues.
"It's been more than a month, and there is no response from the Ukrainian side," Lavrov noted in the Russian-language interview, indicating frustration with the pace of negotiations.
President Trump, speaking separately Friday during a visit to The People's House museum in Washington, acknowledged the challenges ahead.
"We're going to see if Putin and Zelenskyy will be working together," Trump told reporters. "That's like oil and vinegar a little bit. They don't get along too well, for obvious reasons, but we'll see."
Trump said he preferred not to participate in the meeting personally but emphasized urgency in ending the conflict, citing high casualties.
Lavrov accused Kyiv of rejecting potential compromises, including neutrality on NATO membership, territorial discussions and language rights for Russian speakers.
"President Trump suggested, after Anchorage, several points which we share and on some of them, we agreed to be—to show some flexibility," Lavrov said.
According to Lavrov, both the Russian and U.S. presidents want to establish peace in Ukraine. He accused European officials of the opposite, citing reactions following the Alaska summit.
The Russian foreign minister added that security guarantees being discussed around a Ukrainian settlement "must be subject to consensus."
Trump has recently been making vigorous efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, conducting several rounds of talks with both sides and announcing preparations for a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin.
1 min read
1 min read
