Russia Open to Bilateral or Trilateral Talks With Trump and Zelensky: Putin’s Foreign Minister
Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, either one-on-one or alongside President Trump, a top Kremlin official said Tuesday — without committing to a timetable.
“We do not reject any forms of work, neither bilateral nor trilateral. Russian President Putin has repeatedly spoken about this,” Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov told Moscow-owned broadcaster VGTRK.
Putin has rejected attempts by Zelensky to meet face-to-face for the entirety of the 41-month-old war, but the White House insisted Tuesday that talks would happen after Trump met Putin in Alaska on Friday and discussed the way forward with Zelensky and other European leaders at the White House Monday.
Lavrov added that any meeting, whether “1+1” or “1+2,” should be undertaken with a “serious approach” and not simply intended to make headlines.
“Any contacts with the participation of top officials must be prepared with the utmost care,” he stressed.
Trump said Monday that he had spoken to Putin during the meeting with Zelensky and the Europeans and the Russia leader had said he was ready to talk with his Ukrainian counterpart. (Read more from “Russia Open to Bilateral or Trilateral Talks With Trump and Zelensky: Putin’s Foreign Minister” HERE)
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