"Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy, pending the preparation of the summit agenda," Lavrov
stated, (but) this agenda is not ready at all.
Lavrov also noted that Putin has repeatedly expressed his willingness to meet with Zelenskyy, provided that such a meeting can be expected to achieve corresponding outcomes. When it comes to signing legal documents, all parties must clarify the legitimacy of the signatories. According to the Ukrainian constitution, Zelenskyy currently does not possess such legitimacy.
On the 15th of this month, Trump held a summit with Putin in Alaska. On the 18th, he met with visiting Ukrainian President Zelenskyy at the White House, followed by a multilateral meeting with Zelenskyy and several European leaders. After the meeting, he stated that arrangements for a "Putin-Zelenskyy meeting" had begun, to be followed by a trilateral meeting of the leaders of the United States, Russia, and Ukraine.
The U.S. has pressured Russia several times over the past few days. On the 22nd local time, Trump warned that if the leaders of Russia and Ukraine do not hold direct talks within two weeks, he would make a "very important decision," possibly involving "large-scale sanctions or tariffs."
On August 24 local time, U.S. Vice President Vance stated that imposing new sanctions on Russia to pressure it into ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict is not impossible, and the U.S. has various options to exert pressure on Russia.
Trump had previously threatened secondary sanctions on countries purchasing Russian energy. India has already been levied additional tariffs for continuing to buy Russian oil.
On August 25 local time, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy met with visiting Norwegian Prime Minister Støre. At a joint press conference after the meeting, Zelenskyy stated that he would meet with U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine negotiations Kellogg, who is currently visiting Ukraine. The Ukrainian side will also hold talks with the U.S. team this weekend to discuss the possibility of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
