Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that he must have more clarity on what security guarantees his Western backers are willing to provide before meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We want to have an understanding of the security guarantees architecture within seven to 10 days,” Zelensky said. “We need to understand which country will be ready to do what at each specific moment.”
The insistence on security guarantees from NATO countries could sink the peace process, as Russia has said it must be involved in the talks and has rejected the British and French push for a troop deployment to Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday accused the European countries insisting on a troop deployment to Ukraine of purposely undermining the negotiations.
“As for the motives that guide the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’, I see many signs that this activity is aimed precisely at undermining the progress that began to emerge clearly following the summit in Alaska and the contacts between representatives of the American administration and the Russian side that preceded it,” he said.
Zelensky also called for more pressure on Russia in response to heavy Russian missile and drone attacks across Ukraine on Thursday, including a strike that hit a factory owned by a US company.
“They don’t want to end this war, they’re continuing to carry out large-scale attacks on Ukraine and fierce assaults on the front line. On top of that, they’ve launched missiles on a US-owned plant – as on many other civilian targets,” Zelensky said.
“We expect a principled response from our partners. This war must be brought to an end. Pressure must be applied to Russia so that the war ends. Putin understands nothing but strength and pressure,” he added.
