Zelenskyy says Russia doing ‘everything’ to prevent his meeting with Putin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday said Russia was making every effort to prevent his meeting with Vladimir Putin.

“The issue of ending the war must be resolved at the leaders’ level. However, we now see that the Russians are doing everything to avoid such a meeting,” Zelenskyy said at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Kyiv.

He stressed that, unlike Russia, Ukraine had “no fear” of holding high-level talks.

“We are ready to work productively, as much as possible. We hope our partners will help ensure at least a minimally constructive position from the Russian side”, he added.

Zelenskyy also underlined the need to push Russia toward diplomacy, insisting that tougher measures were required if Moscow refused negotiations.

“We need truly strict sanctions if they do not agree to a diplomatic settlement of this war, if they do not want to end it. We have strong trust in the powerful sanction packages of our partners”, the Ukrainian president said.