“President Trump suggested, after Anchorage, several points which we share and on some of them, we agreed to be…to show some flexibility,” he said, referring to the Aug. 15 meeting with Putin in Alaska.
“When President Trump brought … those issues to the meeting in Washington,” Lavrov continued, “it was very clear to everybody that there are several principles which Washington believes must be accepted, including no NATO membership, including the discussion of territorial issues, and Zelenskyy said no to everything.”
Lavrov added: “He even said no to, as I said, to canceling legislation prohibiting the Russian language. How can we meet with a person who is pretending to be a leader?”
Ukraine has not outlawed Russian, but Putin has long claimed, without evidence, that Kyiv has committed genocide against Russian speakers in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. He has also sought to cast doubt on the legitimacy of Zelenskyy, who was democratically elected president of Ukraine in 2019.
Zelenskyy said Thursday that Russia was trying to “wriggle out” of holding a meeting, accusing it of continuing “massive attacks” on Ukraine.
He has stressed that he is “ready” for a meeting with Putin, and urged a “strong reaction from the United States,” including tougher sanctions and new economic pressure, if Putin refuses.
On Friday, Putin praised Trump and said that it might be possible for the U.S. and Russia to fully restore relations.
“As for our relations with the United States, they are at an extremely low point after the Second World War. I have spoken about this many times. But with President Trump, I believe that a light at the end of the tunnel has nonetheless appeared,” he said. “We just had a very good, substantive, and frank meeting in Alaska. Contacts are continuing at the level of our ministries, agencies, and companies. I very much hope that the first steps that have been taken are only the beginning of a full-scale restoration of our relations.”
He added, “It is precisely up to the leadership of the United States to decide what comes next. I am confident that the leadership qualities of the current president, Trump, are a good guarantee that relations will be restored.”
Putin’s comments came after Russia launched its largest assault since early July, firing nearly 600 drones and 40 ballistic and cruise missiles overnight Thursday, including at a U.S.-owned Flex electronics factory in western Ukraine where at least 15 workers were injured.
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