Diplomat says no Putin-Zelensky meeting plan

Uncertainty has grown about Russia's commitment to U.S.-led peace efforts.

- ASSOCIATED PRESS

UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a meeting at the White House on Monday.

Russia's top diplomat said Friday there are no plans for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss their three-year war, days after President Trump said he had begun arrangements for them to sit down together.

"There is no meeting planned" between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a taped interview for NBC's Sunday show "Meet the Press with Kristen Welker."

Trump said in a social media post Monday that he had spoken to Putin and set in motion arrangements for a summit at a location to be decided.

Trump added he would join them for a trilateral meeting afterward.

Uncertainty has grown in recent days about Moscow's commitment to U.S.-led peace efforts, as Russian officials have raised objections about cornerstones of the nascent proposals.

Lavrov said Thursday that Putin is ready to meet with Zelensky to discuss peace terms, but only after key issues have first been worked out by senior officials. That could involve a protracted negotiating process because the two sides remain far apart.