Russian Foreign Minister Serguéi Lavrov declared that “any contact” involving presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodimir Zelenski It must “prepare thoroughly.”
These statements to public television occur after the US president, Donald Trump, said he has begun to “organize” a meeting between his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts after holding a meeting in Washington with Zelenski and several European leaders.
Trump promises security guarantees for #Ukraine.
The president of the United States. Reuretian leaders insist on the need for a high fire.#Dwactualidaden analysis / AJR pic.twitter.com/6qusjzkxhl
– Spanish DW (@DW_ESPANOL) August 19, 2025
Zelenski, on the other hand, said Monday that he is waiting for a possible meeting without conditions with the Russian leader in the next two weeks. This possible meeting could follow another, with Trump’s participation, according to the American plan.
Lavrov said that Moscow “does not reject any work format, or bilateral, or trilateral,” but emphasized that they must “start from the level of experts and then travel all the necessary stages to prepare the summits.”
He also added that it is “impossible to talk about a long -term solution” without taking into account the security interests of Russia and the rights of the Russian population of Ukraine, since “they are the reasons that must be urgently eliminated in the context of the (process of) arrangement.”
According to the head of Russian diplomacy, before negotiating with Russia, Zelenski should eradicate the laws that “violate the rights of Russian speakers.”
Shortly before these statements, according to EFERussian presidential advisor Yuri Ushakov said Putin and Trump They had addressed during a conversation last night the possibility of “raising the level of representation of the Ukrainian and Russian parts” in bilateral negotiations.
Ushakov said that the conversation lasted for 40 minutes, but did not mention a future summit between Putin and Zelenski, which Kremlin considers illegitimate president since May 2024.
The Kremlin has always maintained that Putin has nothing to negotiate separately with Zelenski and that he would only meet him to seal a definitive peace agreement.
As happened in March 2022, the Russian delegation in the last three rounds of negotiations held in Istanbul has been headed by Vladimir Medinski, Putin advisor for cultural affairs.
The election of Medinski, the Spanish agency points out, was highly criticized by both Ukraine and the European Union and NATO, considering that it demonstrated the lack of will of Kremlin to reach a peace agreement.
“If we have a trilateral, there are good chances that war may end,” says Trump
The first three rounds only resulted in the exchange of prisoners of war and corpses, but at no time was the political and military aspect of the conflict in depth.
Putin, who maintains his demand for the Ukrainian army to withdraw his troops from Donbás, had expressed his confidence in celebrating the next summit with Trump in Moscow.
Regarding the meeting between Putin and Trump, “it was noted that the president of the United States and his team sincerely want a result that is lasting, sustainable and reliable,” said Lavrov.
