The Kremlin continues to signal that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not willing to hold an immediate bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov gave an interview to NBC on August 22 and reiterated that there are currently no plans for Putin to meet with Zelensky.
This was commented on by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), quoted by news.bg.
Lavrov said that Putin would meet with Zelensky "when the agenda for the summit is ready", but noted that "this agenda is not ready at all".
Lavrov accused Zelensky of not accepting Russia's preconditions for negotiations, such as "discussion of territorial issues", although on August 18 Zelensky said that he remained ready to meet with Putin without conditions and to discuss territorial issues directly.
Putin rejected Zelensky's invitation from May 2025 for the leaders to hold direct talks in Istanbul.
The Kremlin has used Lavrov repeatedly in the past few days to clarify the Kremlin's position that there will be no meeting between Putin and Zelensky within the timeframe desired by US President Donald Trump.
Lavrov's interview with US media itself is likely intended to directly clarify this position to a Western audience.
Russian officials continue to deflect blame for the lack of a meeting between Putin and Zelensky and the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia by rejecting the legitimacy of Ukraine's democratically elected government.
On August 22, Lavrov asked how Russia could meet with a person "pretending to be a leader", incorrectly suggesting that Zelensky is an illegitimate leader.
On August 21, Lavrov also questioned the legitimacy of Ukrainian officials and their right to sign a peace agreement with Russia.
Ukraine continued its campaign of strikes against Russian military and oil infrastructure in Russia and the occupied part of Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities returned Ukrainian civilians who were deported by Russian authorities from the occupied regions of Ukraine to a checkpoint on the Russian-Georgian border.
Ukrainian forces advanced in the northern part of Sumy Oblast and near Pokrovsk and Novopavlovka.
Russian forces advanced in the northern part of Sumy Oblast and in the eastern part of Zaporizhia Oblast, as well as near Chasov Yar and Novopavlovka.