Zelenskyy says Russian negotiators ‘begun to discuss’ possible Putin meeting

Negotiators from Moscow and Kyiv discussed the possibility of a direct meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Istanbul this week, Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine has been pushing for a meeting between the two leaders and has expressed hope that Donald Trump, who has been pushing for the warring parties to strike a deal, could also take part.

Putin has said he is ready to meet Zelenskyy but only during a “final phase” of negotiations on ending the three-year war.

“We need an end to the war, which probably begins with a meeting of leaders,” Zelenskyy said in comments released to journalists including AFP on Friday.

“In talks with us, they have begun to discuss it. This is already progress toward some kind of meeting format,” he added.

At a fresh round of talks in Istanbul on Wednesday, Ukrainian lead negotiator Rustem Umerov proposed to hold the talks before the end of August.

The timing would roughly align with a deadline set by US President Trump, who earlier this month gave Russia 50 days to strike a peace deal with Ukraine or face sweeping sanctions.

Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky, however, downplayed the likelihood of an imminent meeting.

“The meeting must be properly prepared. Only then will it make sense,” Medinsky was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency TASS.

Talks to end the conflict have so far yielded few results as the two sides have radically different positions.

Russia is still attempting to advance on several parts of the front, Zelenskyy said.

“They are indeed trying to break through. But they have no major breakthroughs,” he said.