Russia 'doing everything to prevent meeting' with US and Ukraine says Zelensky

Russia is doing "everything" to ensure that a trilateral meeting between the leaders of Ukraine, the US and Russia does not take place, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed. "The question of ending the war must be resolved at the leadership level, but we can see now that the Russians are doing everything to prevent a meeting," he said.

The comments come as Mr Zelensky met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Kyiv on Friday (August 22). After the meeting, which was not announced in advance, Mr Rutte and Mr Zelensky held a joint press conference, during which the Ukrainian president discussed Russia's motives. "Ukraine, unlike Russia, is not afraid of any meetings with leaders. We are ready to work productively, to the maximum," the Ukrainian leader continued. "They must be forced into diplomacy; truly strong sanctions are needed if they [Russia] do not agree to a diplomatic resolution of this war, if they do not want to end the war."

"We are counting heavily on strong [sanction] packages from our partners."

Mr Zelensky hoped that "partners will help ensure at least a minimal productive stance from the Russian side," adding that he sees a strong signal from the US, Europe and other countries willing to help as part of the coalition.

"Everything must be done so that Russia can no longer avoid the meeting," he concluded.

Vladimir Putin's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, however, has said that the Russian president is "ready" to meet with Mr Zelensky. Mr Lavrov told reporters his boss had "repeatedly" said he was ready to meet Zelensky, despite the fact that the Russian leader had failed to show up at previously arranged meetings. Speaking to journalists in India, Mr Lavrov said: "Our president has repeatedly said that he is ready to meet, including with Mr. Zelensky, with the understanding that all issues that require consideration at the highest level will be well-developed, and experts and ministers will prepare the relevant recommendations."

Mr Rutte's arrival in the Ukrainian capital on Friday follows his joint visit with Mr Zelensky and several European leaders - including Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Italy's Giorgia Meloni - to Washington DC on August 18. This was a historic moment - a rare display of trans-Atlantic unity. The gathering marked the first time in decades that such a broad delegation of allies had assembled at the White House under such pressing circumstances.

The European leaders were there to bolster Mr Zelensky after a disastrous White House visit in February, when he clashed with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance - and after Mr Trump held a one-on-one with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week.

In an Oval Office scene that evoked a boardroom, the US President sat behind the Resolute desk, backed by military flags, as Mr Zelensky and the European delegation faced him. JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were also present, along with senior White House staff members.

"Washington has often been the scene of these great moments of diplomacy. But it was the speed with which this came together that was so striking and sets this apart," said Marc Selverstone, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs. "Everyone realised this was a crisis moment."