Does Putin really want to meet Zelenskyy? Lavrov says Europe promoting its own agenda

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s latest offer to meet Vladimir Putin, accusing Kyiv and its European allies of pursuing an agenda that sidelines Moscow’s concerns.

Lavrov said Ukraine’s leadership was “not interested” in a genuine peace settlement and was instead focused on securing Western guarantees that Russia views as incompatible with its demands. “The Ukrainian regime and its representatives directly show they are not interested in a sustainable, fair, long-term settlement,” Lavrov said.

He argued that Europe was trying to “undermine” efforts at a sustainable peace formula by extending security guarantees to Kyiv. “Europe is promoting its own agenda, focusing only on guarantees and ignoring the root causes,” he said, stressing that Moscow would continue to follow the policy course decided jointly with Washington.

Lavrov also warned that any move by European states to deploy troops in Ukraine would cross a red line. “This would be absolutely unacceptable for the Russian Federation,” he said, calling such an initiative “foreign intervention in part of Ukrainian territory.”

The remarks came after Zelenskyy suggested he was prepared to meet Putin, but only once Ukraine had received firm commitments on security. He floated Switzerland, Austria or Turkey as possible venues and even proposed a trilateral format with US President Donald Trump.

“We want to have an understanding of the security guarantees architecture within 7–10 days, and based on that understanding, we aim to hold a trilateral meeting,” Zelenskyy told reporters.

Moscow, however, portrayed Zelenskyy’s overture as a political ploy. Lavrov pointed out that the Ukrainian leader had previously ruled out talks with Putin, even signing an executive order to that effect. “Now his proposal is only a tactic, he fears attention to his personality may drop and wants to appear constructive,” Lavrov said.

While stressing that President Putin remained open to talks, Lavrov raised doubts over “the legitimacy of the person who signs the agreement on the Ukrainian side,” hinting at questions over Zelenskyy’s standing at home and abroad.

The exchange highlighted the deep mistrust that continues to block direct dialogue between Moscow and Kyiv with Zelenskyy conditioning talks on Western guarantees, and Russia insisting that peace cannot be built on terms crafted by Europe.