Lavrov tells Zelenskyy to come to Moscow if he wants meeting with Putin
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov commented on the possibility of Zelensky's meeting with Putin (Photo: Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool via REUTERS)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described Moscow’s invitation for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Russian capital as a “huge gesture of goodwill,” even as Moscow maintains that fighting would continue during any negotiations.
Lavrov made the remarks to Interfax on Sept. 12 while responding to Zelenskyy’s proposal to meet Putin in the United States.
Lavrov said an invitation to Moscow had already been extended and that if Zelenskyy wanted a meeting, he could travel there.
He portrayed the offer as a major concession by Russia, pointing to Zelenskyy’s decree ruling out negotiations with Putin while arguing that Moscow was nevertheless demonstrating goodwill.
The Kremlin repeated the invitation in separate comments the same day.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was ready to receive Zelenskyy if the Ukrainian president was genuinely prepared to negotiate with Putin.
Putin aide Yuri Ushakov, meanwhile, said Putin’s possible participation in the upcoming G20 summit was not currently under discussion.
Russia has also made clear that it does not intend to halt military operations while talks are underway. Lavrov previously said he saw no reason why fighting and diplomacy could not proceed “in parallel and simultaneously.”
Possible Zelenskyy-Putin meeting — what is known
The G20 leaders’ summit in Miami is scheduled for Dec. 14-15, 2026.
It remains unclear whether Putin will attend. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sept. 2 that he had not yet decided whether to invite the Russian leader personally.
Trump also said that day that Putin would agree to another meeting with him but that he wanted such a meeting only “when there is a peace deal.”
Zelenskyy has repeatedly said he is ready to meet Putin in person, while the Kremlin has rejected proposed leader-level talks at alternative venues and insisted that any such meeting should take place in Moscow.
On Aug. 24, Zelenskyy said Kyiv, Trump administration representatives and European officials had developed a new joint plan for ending the war.
The proposal includes a ceasefire, a mutual withdrawal of forces from the front line and the establishment of a buffer zone.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe secretly traveled to Moscow the following day. The Wall Street Journal reported that his visit may have involved warnings to Putin amid intelligence indicating Russian preparations for another mobilization and the potential testing of NATO’s resolve.
On Aug. 31, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met his Russian counterpart on the sidelines of a G20 gathering to discuss Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine.
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