Hopes dim for Putin-Zelensky peace summit
Trump says Moscow could face massive sanctions — or he might ‘do nothing.’
Sergei Supinsky, AFP
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The chances of a Russia-Ukraine summit faded Friday as US President Donald Trump appeared to tire of peace efforts and Moscow poured cold water on efforts to end the grinding war in Ukraine.
Trump had raised expectations on Monday by saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky had agreed to meet face-to-face — but on Friday he compared the two men to “oil and vinegar.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said “no meeting” was planned as Trump’s mediation efforts appeared to stall, while Zelensky said Russia was trying to prolong the war.
Trump told reporters on Friday he would make an “important” decision in two weeks on Ukraine peace efforts, specifying that Moscow could face massive sanctions — or he might “do nothing.”
“It takes two to tango,” the US president, wearing a red baseball cap saying “Trump was right about everything,” said in the Oval Office.
“In two weeks, we will know which way I’m going. Because I will go one way or the other, and I’ll learn which way I’m going,” he added.
“That’s whether or not it’s massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both. Or do we do nothing and say it’s your fight.”
‘No meeting planned’
Trump did, however, hold up a photo that he said Putin had sent him after their landmark summit in Alaska a week ago. He also said that he may invite the Russian leader to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals being held in the United States if there is progress on Ukraine.
Lavrov dampened hopes for direct Putin-Zelensky talks to resolve the conflict, now in its fourth year, by questioning the Ukrainian president’s legitimacy and repeating the Kremlin’s maximalist claims.
“There is no meeting planned,” Lavrov said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.”
The veteran Russian diplomat said Putin was “ready to meet Zelensky” as soon as an agenda was prepared. He added that such an agenda was “not ready at all.”
In Kyiv, speaking alongside visiting North Atlantic Treaty Organization chief Mark Rutte, Zelensky said Ukraine had “no agreements with the Russians.”