Ukraine‘s President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters last night that a meeting with Vladimir Putin will be possible after the main axes of an agreement with the West on security guarantees for Ukraine are identified.

His statements to the group of reporters in Kiev were “embargo” until this morning.

“We want to reach an understanding on the structure of security guarantees within seven to ten days. And on the basis of this common ground, we intend to organize a trilateral meeting” in which the US president will also participate, he clarified.

Volodymyr Zelensky also said he would like to see a “strong reaction” from Washington if the Russian president does not want to have a bilateral meeting with him. He added that it was not clear what concessions Moscow would be willing to make.

“I immediately responded to a proposal for a bilateral meeting: we are ready. But what if the Russians are not ready?” he said. “If the Russians are not ready, we would like to see a strong reaction from the United States.”

“To discuss what Ukraine wants to do, let’s first hear what Russia wants to do. We don’t know that.”

Zelensky doesn’t want Budapest

On Budapest as a proposed venue for talks between Kiev and Moscow, the Ukrainian president said it was “problematic” and mentioned Switzerland, Austria or Turkey as alternatives.

We think it is right (…) to hold a meeting in a neutral Europe. Holding it in Budapest “is not easy” given the rapprochement between Hungary and Russia, the Ukrainian president explained, adding that he had ruled out the Moscow option.

President Zelensky said he has asked Donald Trump to persuade Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to stop blocking Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.

“I asked President Trump to ask Budapest to stop blocking our accession to the European Union. President Trump has promised that his team will address the issue.”

Russia is massing forces in the occupied Zaporizhzhya zone in southern Ukraine ahead of a possible attack, Volodymyr Zelensky has warned.

“Zaporizhzhya: the concentration of forces is underway,” he told the group of reporters, clarifying that Moscow is transferring its forces from the Kursk region to the zone.