Canadian Prime Minister: Putin sets conditions because he fears meeting Zelenskyy
Photo: Mark Carney (Getty Images)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is afraid of meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the conditions for ending the war, Ukrinform reports.
According to Carney, Putin constantly puts forward conditions and delays the process because he fears such a meeting.
The Canadian politician added that, in contrast, Zelenskyy is ready to meet with Putin on any neutral territory. He explained that Zelenskyy does not expect Putin to travel to Kyiv, nor does he plan to go to Moscow for such talks, but that any other location would be acceptable.
Carney also stressed that it is important for Ukraine’s allies to continue providing assistance until a summit between Putin and Zelenskyy actually takes place.
Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia
Shortly after the recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, a trilateral summit was held in Washington on August 18. Trump, Zelenskyy, and European leaders participated in the talks, focusing on ways to end the war in Ukraine.
In the Oval Office, the sides discussed security guarantees for Ukraine that could follow once an agreement with Russia is reached to end the war. It was also expected that the next major step would be a direct summit between Zelenskyy and Putin, where the two leaders would sign a peace agreement.
However, the meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin has been delayed. Russian officials have claimed that the sides have not yet made progress toward organizing such a high-level summit. At the same time, Zelenskyy said that Russia is doing everything possible to prevent the talks from happening.
Trump, for his part, stated that the Kremlin leader does not want to meet with Zelenskyy because he "doesn’t like him." The Kremlin has also argued that the Ukrainian President is allegedly illegitimate, presenting this as an obstacle to a peace deal. Yet, Trump told journalists yesterday that such statements from Russia were nonsense.
We also recently wrote about where the summit between Putin and Zelenskyy might take place, at which the sides would attempt to negotiate an end to hostilities.
