VLADIMIR Putin is ready to meet Ukraine’s President Zelensky, according a top Kremlin minister – but only after working through a list of vague “issues”.
Pressure has been mounting on Vlad to sit down with Zelensky since the White House summit – but the latest update looks suspiciously like well-worn stalling tactics.
AFPPutin is apparently ready to meet Zelensky[/caption]
The Mega AgencyZelensky has been ready for some time to meet Putin[/caption]
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: “Our president has repeatedly said that he is ready to meet, including with Mr Zelensky.”
But he insisted the meeting would only happen “with the understanding that all issues that require consideration at the highest level will be well worked out”.
He added: “If – hopefully, when – it comes to signing future agreements, the issue of the legitimacy of the person who signs these agreements from the Ukrainian side will be resolved.”
This refers to Putin’s long-held smear against Zelensky that his leadership is illegitimate – after it had been due to expire in 2024.
Kyiv insists Zelesnky’s position is sound, as elections have been impossible during wartime.
Following the Alaska summit, Trump said he had begun arranging a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.
Momentum seemed to build after Zelensky and EU leaders met the President in Washington – during which Trump took a 40-minute call with Putin.
The blueprint is for a head-to-head between Zelensky and Putin, followed by a trilateral meeting with Trump.
The leaders have appeared on the brink of meeting in person before, with the stage all set back in Turkey in May – only for Putin to pull out last minute.
And it has been a regular strategy of the Kremlin’s to claim there are vague unresolved issues blocking the path to peace.
One issue the Kremlin has produced is their theory that a future leader of Ukraine could contest any peace deal Zelensky sings, based on their unbacked claim his leadership is illegitimate.
Lavrov said the best option for a security guarantee for Ukraine would be based on discussions between Moscow and Kyiv that took place in 2022.
Ukraine was asked to agree to permanent neutrality in return for international security guarantees from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.
Lavrov insisted that any attempt to pick up from the failed Istanbul discussions would be hopeless.
He also accused EU leaders of trying to undermine progress made at the Alaska summit – despite their ongoing effort to get Putin and Zelensky round the table.
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