Lavrov confirmed that no such meeting is currently scheduled.
He stated that after Putin’s Aug. 15 summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska, the Untied States proposed several initiatives that Russia supports and that both sides agreed to “show flexibility” on some of them. According to Lavrov, Zelenskyy “rejected the proposed positions,” including abandoning Ukraine’s bid to join NATO and ceding even more territory to Russia. He also criticized the Ukrainian leader for refusing legislate special status for the Russian language in Ukraine.
“How can we meet with someone who is pretending to be a leader?” Lavrov said.
Earlier, Trump said his participation in a potential trilateral meeting with Zelenskyy and Putin would depend on whether the two could “work together.” The Washington Post reported that U.S. hopes for a peace summit involving Putin and Zelenskyy have faltered, and Trump’s backup plan for a bilateral meeting has not materialized.