Interfax-Ukraine
12:56 23.08.2025

Zelenskyy ready to discuss territorial issues with Putin – media

3 min read

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to discuss territorial issues during a meeting with Putin, NBC News reported on Friday, citing an interview given by Ukrainian First Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Kyslytsia to the Meet the Press program.

The host asked Kyslytsia to comment on the statement by Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov that a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy is not planned, and to say whether he thinks that "this peace process is still moving forward, or has it stopped now?"

"No, I believe that it is moving forward, and it is moving gradually. Unfortunately, not as fast as we would like. But I believe that this Monday and the meeting at the White House were extremely important events of the last months. And I believe that this was an important achievement in which President Trump played a decisive role," Kyslytsia said.

When asked about the possible timing of a direct meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, Kyslytsia replied that at least a week is needed "to prepare a reliable draft package of security guarantees for Ukraine."

"So, ideally, we can have the first draft at the beginning of next week, and then we have to decide, the political leadership has to decide, how we will work with these projects from the political side," Kyslytsia noted.

Asked what he thinks the United States should do if the meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin does not take place, and whether the United States should impose additional sanctions against Russia, Kyslytsia answered in the affirmative, emphasizing that "additional pressure should be almost immediate when the deadline Trump has in mind ends."

"And then the Russians should really feel the pain of not wanting to follow the path of peace that President Trump has offered to the Russian Federation," the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine emphasized.

When asked about Russia's claims to receive more territory than it has already illegally seized and about the possibility for Ukraine to discuss these issues, Kyslytsia replied that President Zelenskyy "is guided by both the current legislation of Ukraine and public opinion, and the public is categorically against exchanging our land for peace."

"But when it came to territorial issues, President Zelenskyy made it clear that he was willing to sit down and discuss this with Putin, starting the discussion of territorial issues from the line of combat that exists now," Kyslytsia told NBC News.

"Two worlds, two perspectives: sabotage versus the maximum desire to achieve progress," Kyslytsia commented on his and Lavrov's statements on NBC News, on the platform X.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov reportedly told NBC News' "Meet the Press" program on Friday that a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy was not planned.

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