3 hours ago
Last Updated:August 22, 2025, 18:12 IST
Sergey Lavrov accused Zelenskyy of rejecting Donald Trump’s peace plan amid stalled prospects for direct talks.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (Image Credit: Reuters)
Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov launched a blistering attack on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, claiming he has rejected “every principle" put forward under Donald Trump’s peace initiative and is deliberately obstructing efforts to end the Ukraine war.
“Zelenskyy said no to everything. Russia, on the other hand, agreed to show some flexibility," Sergey Lavrov said, adding, “How can we meet with a person pretending to be a leader?"
His comments cast fresh doubt over prospects of a direct meeting between Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin, after Donald Trump signalled he would step back from hosting trilateral talks and leave the two leaders to arrange a bilateral summit.
Read more: Kim Jong Un Pays Rare Tribute To North Korean Soldiers Killed In Ukraine War: ‘My Heart Aches…’
Conditions For Russia-Ukraine Talks
Zelenskyy =insisted he will only meet Vladimir Putin once Ukraine’s allies have agreed on binding security guarantees, warning there can be no negotiations without assurances against further Russian aggression. Moscow, meanwhile, continues to demand adherence to its maximalist terms first tabled in Istanbul in 2022, including restrictions on Western military support for Kyiv as Lavrov dismissed European-led peace efforts as “hopeless."
Earlier, Donald Trump suggested Ukraine could not win the war without striking targets inside Russia, remarks widely seen as an endorsement of Kyiv’s recent cross-border attacks.
On his social media platform Truth Social, Donald Trump shared an image comparing himself confronting Vladimir Putin with Richard Nixon’s famous clash with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev, in a further sign of his confrontational messaging.
The rhetoric coincides with some of the heaviest Russian aerial bombardments of the war so far, including strikes on a US-owned electronics plant in western Ukraine. European military leaders have also been drawing up security guarantee frameworks aimed at anchoring any eventual peace settlement.
Location :Russia
First Published:August 22, 2025, 18:12 IST
News world Russia's Lavrov Accuses Zelenskyy Of Torpedoing Ukraine Talks: 'He's A Pretend Leader’
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