No Progress in Peace Talks Despite Trump's Mediation... Zelensky: "Putin Is Making Every Effort to Avoid a Summit"

Disagreements Over Security Guarantees and Territorial Issues Persist
Russia Challenges President Zelensky's Legitimacy
Clashes Continue Amid Stalemate in Summit Talks

Despite mediation efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump, Russia and Ukraine have failed to make progress in their peace negotiations. As Russia continues to postpone a summit between the two countries and persists with military attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky raised his voice, stating that President Vladimir Putin is "making every effort to avoid a summit."

Summit Talks Seemed to Gain Momentum... But Russia Throws Cold Water

On August 15 (local time), President Trump met with President Putin in Alaska. On August 18, he held talks at the White House with President Zelensky and European leaders to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine. During the White House meeting, Trump announced that after a phone call with President Putin, he had begun coordinating a summit between Ukraine and Russia. He also stated that after the bilateral summit, a trilateral summit including himself would follow.

At that time, it appeared that the first summit between the warring nations was gaining rapid momentum, but Russia dampened the celebratory mood. Yuri Ushakov, Kremlin foreign policy adviser, drew a line under speculation about an imminent summit, stating right after the Trump-Putin call, "The two leaders only discussed raising the level of their negotiating delegations."

There has also been little progress on security guarantees and territorial issues, where disagreements were expected. Regarding the most contentious issue-territory-President Trump mentioned a "territorial exchange that benefits both sides," but Putin is demanding the entire Donbas region. Some analysts believe Russia may also demand recognition of its sovereignty over all occupied territories. On the other hand, Zelensky is firmly opposed to ceding any territory. On August 20, he declared, "Legally, we do not recognize (Russia's) occupation."

The issue of security guarantees remains unresolved as well. The Trump administration claims that Russia has accepted a Western proposal "similar to NATO" for Ukraine, but Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov strongly denied this. Regarding Ukraine's postwar security, there are ongoing discussions, led by the UK and France, about deploying a "security force," but experts criticize that without a commitment to deploy U.S. troops, such a plan is "an empty promise."

Russia Refuses to Recognize President Zelensky as a Negotiating Partner

Moreover, Russia does not recognize President Zelensky as a legitimate negotiating partner. On August 21, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that while President Putin is prepared to meet with President Zelensky, the issue of Zelensky's legitimacy must be resolved first. He pointed out that Zelensky's official term ended in May last year, but elections have been postponed under wartime martial law.

President Zelensky, in turn, has expressed doubts about President Putin's sincerity. In his regular address on the evening of August 21, he said, "Russia is making every effort not to hold a summit (with Ukraine)," adding, "Frankly, the signals coming from Russia are simply absurd. They do not want to end this war."

While summit talks have stalled, Russia launched attacks across Ukraine on the night of August 20-21, using hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, resulting in one death and several injuries. According to the Ukrainian military, Russia used 574 drones and 40 missiles in the attack. This was the third largest drone strike and the eighth largest missile strike by Russia against Ukraine this year.

In this attack, the U.S. company Flex's factory in Mukachevo, Zakarpattia Oblast, southwestern Ukraine, was targeted by cruise missiles. The American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine called on President Trump to respond to Russia for damaging American assets and humiliating U.S. companies.