“We are ready for the bilateral meeting. If the Russians are not, then we would like to see a strong response from the United States,” Zelensky said, adding that he asked Trump to impose additional sanctions on Moscow if it rejects talks with Ukraine.

The meeting would mark the first encounter between Zelensky and Putin since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The two leaders last met in Paris in December 2019 as part of Normandy Format talks mediated by France and Germany.

Zelensky said that within the next 7 to 10 days, Ukraine expects to gain clarity on the “architecture” of NATO’s “Article 5-like” security guarantees that the West can provide as part of the ongoing peace effort, including how each country’s commitment.

After this, he added, U.S. President Donald Trump expects that a bilateral meeting between Zelensky and Putin should take place within “one to two weeks.” If that meeting yields results, a trilateral summit involving Trump could follow.

“We need this meeting. We’ve taken a step forward, and now they (Russia) must do something to show they truly want to end the war, as they have claimed,” Zelensky continued.

Bloomberg reported on Aug. 19 that a package of security guarantees for Ukraine might be finalized this week. European officials have reportedly discussed sending British and French troops to Ukraine, along with contingents from roughly 10 other countries.

The Kremlin has dismissed these security proposals, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov saying on Aug. 20 that Russia must be involved in providing Ukraine with security guarantees.

Following a bilateral meeting with Trump in Alaska, which didn’t yield any peace or ceasefire agreement, Putin returned without facing the sanctions Trump had long threatened but hadn’t enforced.

Talk preparations are being led by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance.

Zelensky named Switzerland, Austria, and Turkey as potential hosts for the talks. As for Hungary, he said it would be “not easy,” given Budapest’s opposition to supporting Ukraine during the war.

Separately, Zelensky stated that Trump will work with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to persuade Budapest to stop blocking Ukraine’s path to European Union membership.

Zelensky has repeatedly voiced readiness for direct negotiations. On Aug. 18, he said he was prepared to discuss territorial issues with Putin personally. The Russian president has so far avoided meeting Zelensky despite claiming openness to talks.

In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Vance said the US should not have to “carry the burden” of underpinning Kyiv’s post-war security.

“I think that we should be helpful if it’s necessary to stop the war and to stop the killing. But I think that we should expect, and the president certainly expects, Europe to play the leading role here,” Vance stated.

“What he said very clearly is: Look, the United States is open to have the conversation, but we’re not going to make commitments until we figure out what is going to be necessary to stop the war in the first place.”

Vance’s comments came a day after US President Donald Trump ruled out the possibility of US troops in Ukraine, while suggesting that Washington could provide support “by air”.

The issue of post-war security guarantees for Ukraine has been a major question mark over Trump’s push to end the three-and-a-half-year-long conflict.

After hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top European leaders at the White House for talks on the war on Monday, Trump said that European countries would be the “first line of defence”, but that Washington would provide “a lot of help”.

While Trump has ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine, his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte have raised the possibility of offering Kyiv a security guarantee resembling the 32-member alliance’s collective defence mandate.

Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, an armed attack against one NATO member nation is considered an attack on all members of the alliance.

While Trump has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to European peacekeepers being stationed in Ukraine, Moscow has repeatedly dismissed the possibility of troops from NATO countries along its border.

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that his country would need to be included in negotiations on security guarantees, warning that excluding Moscow would be a “road to nowhere”.

“We cannot agree with the fact that now it is proposed to resolve questions of security, collective security, without the Russian Federation. This will not work,” Lavrov added.

Despite the sticking points between the sides, Vance stated on Wednesday that the Trump administration had made “great progress” in its efforts to end the war.

“You can never say with certainty what the outcome in this situation is going to be,” Vance added.

“But we now have the Russians talking to the Ukrainians; they’re talking details about what would be necessary on each side to stop the fighting, to stop the killing.”