Zelensky Conditions Meeting with Putin on "No Preconditions"

Vladimir Zelensky has expressed his readiness to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a trilateral or bilateral format, emphasizing that such talks should proceed without any preconditions. However, he immediately clarified that such a meeting would not take place in Moscow. This was reported by RIA Novosti.

Earlier, Putin stated that if Zelensky was willing to meet, he should come to Moscow. Zelensky declined this suggestion, contradictory in his stance, asserting instead that he was prepared for a meeting "in any format." In response, Russian President's spokesman Dmitry Peskov remarked that Putin had invited Zelensky to Moscow for negotiations, not to surrender.

"I am prepared to meet with President Trump and President Putin in either a three-way or two-way format. I am ready to meet without any conditions," Zelensky declared in an interview with the British channel Sky News.

He also emphasized that he has no intention of traveling to Moscow for negotiations but is open to considering proposals for a meeting in any other country except Russia.

Earlier, Trump announced preparations for a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, which could lead to a trilateral summit involving him as well. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that during a phone call, Putin and Trump expressed support for continuing direct negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations. In this context, discussions included the possibility of elevating the level of representatives involved from both sides.

Previously, Foreign Minister Lavrov stated that Russia was willing to discuss political aspects of the conflict resolution with Ukraine and to work within any format. However, Moscow has yet to receive a response from Kiev regarding its proposal to establish three working groups to address humanitarian, military, and political issues more concretely—an initiative put forward during negotiations in Istanbul in 2022. Moreover, it was Zelensky who rejected the invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to Moscow for talks.