Russia says ‘no assembly deliberate’ with Zelenskyy

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated on Friday (August 22, 2025) there was “no meeting planned” between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, regardless of U.S. makes an attempt to organise the summit.

“There is no meeting planned,” Mr. Lavrov stated in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker”.

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U.S. President Donald Trump raised expectations for a swift summit between the leaders by saying they’ve each agreed to satisfy after he acquired President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with European allies within the White House.

Mr. Lavrov informed the U.S. broadcaster that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “ready to meet Zelenskyy when the agenda would be ready for a summit,” including that it was “not ready at all”.

Mr. Lavrov earlier this week slammed the White House assembly as a “clumsy” try by Europeans to alter the U.S. chief’s place on Ukraine, agreed with Mr. Putin at a summit in Alaska final week.

And on Friday, he dashed hopes for a Putin-Zelensky assembly to resolve the battle now in its fourth yr, by questioning the Ukrainian president’s legitimacy and repeating Russia’s maximalist claims.

“There are several principles which Washington believes must be accepted, including no NATO membership, including the discussion of territorial issues, and Zelenskyy said no to everything,” in response to Mr. Lavrov.