Zelenski claims that “Russians do everything they can to prevent” a meeting between him and Putin. What did he say about security guarantees for Ukraine
Volodimir Zelenski and Vladimir Putin. Collage: Ion Mateș / Hotnews. Photo: Profimedia, Shutterstock
The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, said on Friday that Russia is doing everything he can to meet between him and his Kremlin counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and urged Kiev's allies to introduce new sanctions if Moscow shows no interest in peace, Reuters reports.
Speaking in Kiev in a common press conference with NATO Secretary General, Volodimir Zelenski said he and Mark Rutte discussed possible security guarantees for Ukraine from other states.
The Ukrainian leader believes that guarantees should be similar to NATO Article 5, which establishes that an armed attack will be considered an attack on all.
“It is not easy, because guarantees consist of what our partners can offer Ukraine, as well as how the Ukrainian army should be and where we can find opportunities for the army to maintain their power,” Zelenski said.
At the same time, the President of Ukraine asked the Allies to exert pressure on Russia to bring them into a “at least minimal productive position”.
Zelenski has repeatedly applied for a meeting with Putin, and US President Donald Trump said his Russian counterpart had organized such a summit during a bilateral conversation when they were at the White House Volodimir Zelenski and a series of European leaders.
“The Russians do everything they can to prevent the meeting,” Zelenski said on Friday.
“Unlike Russia, Ukraine is not afraid of any meeting with leaders,” he concluded.
Moscow says “no meeting” Putin-Zenski is planned
Also on Friday, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs said “no meeting” between Russia and Ukraine's presidents is planned.
“No meeting is planned,” Sergei Lavrov said in an interview for the show “Meet with Kristen Welker” at the NBC, according to AFP.
Minister Lavrov claims that President Vladimir Putin will be ready to have a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart “when there is an agenda for the summit”, but “at this time there is no”.
Asked by journalists on Thursday, the head of Russian diplomacy had also discussed the “lack of legitimacy” of Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski, according to statements quoted by Reuters and Kommersant.
