Russia’s Foreign Minister says ‘no agenda’ for Putin-Zelenskyy meeting, dimming hopes for Trump plan

The White House has been pushing for a location and date following Trump’s meeting with Putin in Alaska earlier this month, but Moscow has shown little urgency.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that no meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy is currently planned, casting new doubt on Donald Trump’s efforts to broker a summit to end the war.

“Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy when the agenda is ready for a summit, and this agenda is not ready at all,” Lavrov told NBC News’ Meet the Press in an interview.

The White House has been pushing for a location and date following Trump’s meeting with Putin in Alaska earlier this month, but Moscow has shown little urgency.

Russia blames Kyiv, points to US conditions

Lavrov accused Ukraine of blocking progress, saying that Zelenskyy rejected every principle floated by Washington, including no NATO membership and discussions on territorial issues.

“He even said no to cancelling legislation prohibiting the Russian language. How can we meet with a person who is pretending to be a leader?” Lavrov said.

Ukraine has not banned Russian, though Putin has long pushed the narrative that Kyiv discriminates against Russian speakers.

Zelenskyy accuses Moscow of stalling

Responding on Thursday, Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to 'wriggle out' of a summit while continuing 'massive attacks' on Ukrainian cities.

He said he remained ready to meet Putin and urged the U.S. to respond with tougher sanctions and economic pressure if Moscow refuses.

Major assault as diplomacy falters

Lavrov’s comments came just hours after Russia unleashed its largest aerial assault since July, firing nearly 600 drones and 40 missiles across Ukraine.

Targets included a U.S.-owned Flex electronics factory in western Ukraine, where at least 15 workers were injured.

Trump weighs in, and Kyiv agrees

Trump, who has been pushing for a peace deal, reacted on Truth Social by comparing Ukraine’s situation to a sports team barred from playing offense:

“There is no chance of winning!” he wrote.

Zelenskyy said Trump was 'absolutely right' that Ukraine needed protection beyond defense, though he stressed that diplomacy remained Kyiv’s priority.

Security guarantees talks move forward

Meanwhile, Western allies advanced talks on postwar security guarantees for Ukraine this week. Defense chiefs from the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Finland and Ukraine met to draft options that will now go before national security advisors.

Trump has said the U.S. would help provide security guarantees, likely air support, but not ground troops, in any eventual deal.

Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s call for 'truly reliable' guarantees but dismissed any attempt to craft them without Russia’s involvement as “a utopia, a road to nowhere.