Kremlin denies Trump, Putin ever agreed on face-to-face Zelensky meeting
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There was no agreement between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Sept. 2, contradicting Trump's earlier claims.
The U.S. president had said on Aug. 19 that he began "arrangements" for a Putin-Zelensky meeting, with the possibility of trilateral talks after.
"Right now, there is talk of a trilateral meeting, of a meeting between Putin and Zelensky. But specifically, as far as I know, there was no agreement between Putin and Trump on this," Ushakov told Russian propagandist Pavel Zarubin.
The statement follows the expiration of another deadline set by Trump for Moscow to move toward a settlement in its war.
Ushakov said raising the level of delegations in Ukrainian-Russian negotiations had been discussed during Trump and Putin's phone call and at their Alaska summit, but no agreement was made.
"So far, what's being broadcast in the press is not exactly what we agreed on," he said.
Trump met Zelensky and European leaders at the White House on Aug. 18, three days after his meeting with Putin. Zelensky said after the talks that Ukraine was prepared to engage in unconditional negotiations with Moscow at the highest level.
The Ukrainian president has repeatedly voiced readiness for a direct meeting with Putin, urging the U.S. to impose tougher measures if Russia continues to avoid such talks.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Aug. 22 that a Zelensky-Putin meeting was "not ready at all," accusing Ukraine of rejecting several preconditions and questioning Zelensky's legitimacy.
A source in Ukraine's President's Office told the Kyiv Independent earlier that a face-to-face meeting between Zelensky and Putin will not happen unless the U.S. ups its pressure on the Russian leader.
Trump said on Aug. 25 that Putin avoids meeting Zelensky because "he doesn't like him."
