Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday questioned the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and hinted that any negotiation that take place without Russia’s direct involvement are “hopeless.”
The summit over the weekend in Alaska between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended without any concrete path to peace.
Trump is seeking a formal meeting that includes Putin and Zelenskyy in which the topic of recognizing Russian land acquisition and a ceasefire contingent on Western military assistance would be discussed.
Lavrov said earlier this week that his country should hold veto power over any military aid provided to Ukraine if and when a peace agreement is reached.
“Our president has repeatedly said that he is ready to meet, including with Mr. Zelenskyy, with the understanding that all issues that require consideration at the highest level will be well worked out,” Lavrov said, according to a translation of his remarks in The Associated Press.
“And, of course, with the understanding that when and if the matter — I hope when — comes to signing future agreements, the issue of the legitimacy of the person who will sign these agreements with the Ukrainian side will be resolved,” he continued.
Putin has questioned Zelenskyy’s political legitimacy for years, saying that his term has expired and new elections have not been held since the war in Ukraine started in 2022 and martial law was declared.
“As the current discussions between the West and the Ukrainian side are essentially linked to providing guarantees in the form of the foreign military intervention of a certain part of the Ukrainian territory,” he continued.
“All the different [ideas], all the unilateral [moves] are an absolutely hopeless venture,” Lavrov said, according to Reuters.
Trump has indicated he is willing to use U.S. airpower to support European forces in Ukraine but promised not to commit to American ground troops, but he has suggested that Europeans are willing to make that crucial step.
“When it comes to security, they are willing to put people on the ground, Trump said on a Monday interview. “We’re willing to help them with things, especially, probably, if you talk about by air, because there is nobody has the kind of stuff we have.”
On Wednesday, Trump sharpened his tone with a social media post in which he wrote “interesting times ahead” after a lengthy explanation of why Ukraine and Western allies would no longer play a defensive-only role.
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