Zelensky: Russia shows no signs that the trilateral meeting will take place

He also stressed that the Ukrainian Constitution makes it impossible to cede territory. The President made this statement during a joint press conference in Brussels with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, according to a Ukrinform correspondent.

“Russia gives no sign that the trilateral will happen. And if Russia refuses, then new sanctions must follow,” Zelensky emphasized.

He also added that real negotiations to end the war could begin with a ceasefire along the frontline.

“Putin has many demands, but we do not know all of them. And if there are really as many as we heard, then it will take time to go through them all. It's impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons. So it's necessary to ceasefire and work quickly on a final deal. We'll talk about it in Washington. Putin does not want to stop the killing, but he must do it,“ the President said, stressing that real negotiations are needed.

”We need real negotiations, which means they can start where the front line is now. The contact line is the best line for talking, and Europeans support this,“ Zelensky emphasized.

He stressed that Russia has still not achieved any success in the Donetsk region.

”Putin has been unable to take it [the Donetsk region] for 12 years. And the constitution of Ukraine makes it impossible to give up territory or trade land," the Head of State noted.

At the same time, Zelensky emphasized that the territorial issue is so important that it can only be discussed at the level of the leaders of Ukraine and Russia during a trilateral meeting.

As reported by Ukrinform, on Monday, August 18, the President of Ukraine, together with several European leaders, will hold a meeting in Washington with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss a peaceful settlement of Russia's war against Ukraine.

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