Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday to discuss peace talk negotiations held with Russia as the Trump administration seeks to broker a ceasefire in the three-year conflict.
Zelensky said in a statement that he briefed the U.S. officials about talks held on Friday with the Russians in Istanbul, describing the Kremlin’s demands for a lasting ceasefire as “unrealistic” and accusing Russia of violating the ceasefire it proposed.
The Ukrainian leader also said the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin sent low-level officials to the talks on Friday “indicated that it had no mandate to make any decisions.”
“Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that all this demonstrates Moscow’s lack of intent to end the war – and that is precisely why pressure is needed to compel Russia to agree to a full and unconditional ceasefire,” the Ukrainian president’s readout of the meeting read.
Putin originally proposed the meeting in Istanbul, in response to pressure from the U.S. to agree to a 30-day ceasefire. Zelensky agreed to those terms and urged Putin to meet him personally in Istanbul, but the two leaders ultimately did not meet face-to-face, instead sending lower-level officials to the meeting.
The two sides agreed to a prisoner swap but otherwise emerged from the talks on Friday far apart on progress towards a ceasefire.
In the Sunday readout, Zelensky said he discussed with U.S. the possibility of “strong sanctions against Russia” and briefed the U.S. on the state of the war on the front lines.
Zelensky said in the readout that he made clear to U.S. officials on Sunday “that Ukraine consistently supports all U.S. proposals and is engaged in constructive dialogue to achieve a just and lasting peace.”
President Trump said he plans to talk to Putin on Monday and then talk to Zelensky.
“Hopefully it will be a productive day, a cease-fire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end. God bless us all,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday, announcing his plans to speak with both leaders on Monday.
Zelensky also said in the readout he discussed the “implementation” of the Ukraine–U.S. economic partnership agreement and informed the U.S. officials that he sent President Trump proposals for cooperated on defense and trade.
