Putin, Zelensky not ready for face-to-face meeting, Erdogan says
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sept. 2 that neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is prepared to hold direct talks at this time, according to Reuters.
Erdogan made the remarks on Sept. 1 after meeting with Putin in China and speaking with Zelensky by phone.
Erdogan told journalists that while negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Istanbul show the path to peace remains open, conditions for a leaders' summit have not yet been created.
Yet, Turkey supports "raising the level of negotiations gradually," the Turkish president added.
After the Aug. 15 summit with Putin in Alaska, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was working to broker a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.
Following Aug. 18 talks at the White House with European leaders and Trump, Zelensky said Kyiv is ready to enter unconditional high-level negotiations with Moscow.
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."
