Kyiv [Ukraine], August 23 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday spoke to Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof on the occasion of National Flag Day in Ukraine and apprised him of the talks in Washington.
Schoof and Zelenskyy also discussed security guarantees from the US and European allies.
"Today is a very special day in Ukraine - National Flag Day. Thank you, Dick, for your important and warm words of support to our people, to all Ukrainians. We greatly value the assistance of the Netherlands and the solidarity of the Dutch people. Thank you for standing with us and helping to protect lives," Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1959212393579385044
"We also talked about our joint projects and investments in Ukraine's defense production. We are preparing important agreements and a meeting in the near future," he added.
https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1959161131722805549
Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump renewed a threat on Friday to impose sanctions on Russia if there is no progress towards a peaceful settlement in Ukraine in two weeks, showing frustration at Moscow a week after his warm meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said there is no agenda for a potential summit between Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he accused of saying "no to everything", as per Al Jazeera.
Lavrov said a meeting with Zelenskyy and a deal were possible, provided there was a proper agenda for such a session.
Zelenskyy has accused Russia of doing everything it can to make sure that a meeting between him and Putin does not take place, and called on Ukraine's allies to apply renewed sanctions on Moscow if it continues to show no desire to end its invasion of his country, as per Al Jazeera.
Putin has said there was "light at the end of the tunnel" in Russia-US relations, and that the two countries were discussing joint projects in the Arctic and Alaska, signalling Russia's optimism that it can mend relations with Washington and strike business deals with Trump, despite a lack of progress towards ending its war on Ukraine, Al Jazeera reported.