Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed to nations in the Global South to back diplomatic efforts aimed at persuading Russia to end its war in Ukraine, warning that Moscow is deliberately prolonging the conflict.
In a statement released after talks with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday, Zelenskyy said the fighting “must be brought to an end” and stressed that “the killings and destruction must be stopped.”
“I reaffirmed my readiness for any format of meeting with the head of Russia,” he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “However, we see that Moscow is once again trying to drag everything out even further. It is important that the Global South sends relevant signals and pushes Russia toward peace.”
His remarks came as a wider diplomatic push, led by US President Donald Trump and supported by several European governments, has struggled to gain momentum. On Friday, Trump voiced frustration over the lack of progress following his meeting with Putin in Alaska, warning that Washington could consider sanctions on Moscow if talks did not advance within two weeks.
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The US president has been seeking to broker a summit between Zelenskyy and Putin, a meeting long requested by the Ukrainian leader, as a potential step toward ending the conflict. But on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed suggestions that such a session was imminent.
Speaking in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, Lavrov said Putin was prepared to meet Zelenskyy only if a clear framework was established in advance. “Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy when the agenda would be ready for a summit. And this agenda is not ready at all,” he said.
Speaking in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, Lavrov said Putin was prepared to meet Zelenskyy only if a clear framework was established in advance. “Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy when the agenda would be ready for a summit. And this agenda is not ready at all,” he said.
For now, Zelenskyy continues to push for wider backing abroad, while Moscow signals little urgency to meet him at the table.