U.S. should hit Russia with sanctions if no Zelenskyy-Putin summit, Ukraine says

He stated this in an interview with NBC News.

According to the First Deputy Foreign Minister, Russia continues to manipulate the United States and Donald Trump personally, trying to stall the peace process.

“But I think that, slowly and gradually, the U.S. administration is beginning to understand that Moscow is manipulating it. I see no signs that Putin is ready for substantive negotiations or a meeting — whether bilateral or trilateral,” he added.

Kyslytsia believes that if Moscow refuses a Zelenskyy-Putin meeting, the U.S. should impose additional sanctions “almost immediately, once the deadline that Trump has in mind passes.”

“And then the Russians will truly feel the pain of refusing to follow the path to peace that President Trump offered to the Russian Federation,” the diplomat said.

• On August 21, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow does not accept any security guarantees for Ukraine if they involve isolating Russia or are directed against it.