Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky have ‘no meeting planned,’ Russian official says

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov threw cold water on the possibility of an imminent meeting taking place between President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying that no meeting is currently planned.

“Putin is ready to meet with Zelensky, when the agenda would be ready for a summit,” Mr Lavrov said during an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press that aired Sunday.

“And this agenda is not ready at all,” he continued.

Mr Lavrov’s comments come after President Donald Trump suggested earlier this month that the leaders of the two countries had agreed to meet, which would mark a breakthrough in the ongoing war.

“I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social on August 18, after he met separately with the two leaders.

Mr Trump met in Alaska with Mr Putin, and then subsequently hosted Mr Zelensky at the White House, alongside several European leaders.

But in the days since Mr Trump’s meetings with the two leaders, Russia has continued to launch missile strikes on Ukraine, including one that hit an electronics factory owned by a US-based company.

The continued attacks — and Mr Lavrov’s comments — have raised questions about Mr Trump’s ability to broker a peace deal between the two countries.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Mr Lavrov’s remarks.

Vice President JD Vance in a separate interview on NBC News, however, expressed optimism that “energetic diplomacy” will “bring this war to a close.”

“We’re going to eventually be successful, or we’ll hit a brick wall,” Vance told NBC News’ Meet the Press.

“And if we hit a brick wall, then we’re going to continue this process of negotiation, of applying leverage,” he said.