Uncertainty mounted on Friday over a potential peace summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would make a "major decision" within two weeks, while Russia stated there were no plans for such a meeting. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump expressed his frustration with the current situation. "I am not happy with the efforts being made for peace" between Moscow and Kyiv, he said. "We'll see what happens. I think in two weeks we'll know where things are going," Trump added, indicating that his decision regarding Russia "will be major, whether it's sanctions or tariffs, or nothing." When asked by CNN what his decision would be if Putin did not come to the negotiating table, Trump replied: "We'll see… I'll see then who is in the wrong." "We'll see if there is a meeting or not. It will be interesting to see that, and if they don't have a meeting, why didn't they have a meeting?" Trump continued. He also mentioned that Putin "might attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup," which the United States is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, and showed reporters a photo of himself with the Russian president. Trump's comments come a week after he held talks with Putin in Alaska, which were followed by meetings with European leaders and Zelenskyy at the White House. However, he has so far failed to achieve tangible progress regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskyy: Moscow is stalling In Kyiv, President Zelenskyy accused Moscow of doing everything it could to prevent a meeting with Putin and called on his country's allies to provide concrete security guarantees in any peace agreement. "The Russians are doing their utmost to prevent the meeting from being held," Zelenskyy said during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Friday, accusing Moscow of "stalling". Zelenskyy and Rutte intensified their call for tangible security guarantees from Kyiv's allies, stressing that "more than just symbolic signals are required, but a framework similar in nature to Article 5 of the NATO charter (the alliance's collective defence clause)." "Negotiations are currently underway almost daily on the specific content of security guarantees for Ukraine," Zelenskyy added. "We are calling for guarantees like Article 5… these are the effective security guarantees, this is the goal we must achieve." No plans for a summit Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that there were no plans for a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. "Putin is ready to meet Zelenskyy when there is a ready agenda for the summit, and this agenda is not ready at all," Lavrov said in an interview with NBC News. "President Putin has made it clear that he is ready to meet provided there is a real agenda, a presidential agenda for this meeting," Lavrov continued, accusing Ukraine of "obstructing progress towards a peace agreement." Adding to the uncertainty, Finnish President Alexander Stubb also ruled out a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy at the present time, without providing further details.
