"Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov stated that russia does in fact recognize Zelensky as a leader and is ready to meet with him. The russian foreign minister made the corresponding statement in an interview with the American TV channel NBC News, published on Sunday, August 24", - reports DW.
According to Lavrov, russia recognizes Zelensky as the "de facto head of the regime" and is ready to meet with him "in this capacity, however, under the Constitution of Ukraine, Zelensky is currently not a legitimate president". Lavrov also emphasized the importance of the legitimacy of those who will be signing a possible peace agreement between the two countries.
"President Putin is ready for a meeting with Zelensky if a summit plan is prepared", - Lavrov noted.
In a conversation with the channel’s host, Lavrov assured that during a phone call between the presidents of russia and the US, putin confirmed to Trump that russia is ready for further direct negotiations with Kyiv, which had previously started in Istanbul. At the same time, the russian minister stated that the negotiations will continue to take place in Istanbul.
Also, according to Lavrov, it was russia that proposed raising the level of delegations in order to discuss issues that would later need to be brought before putin and Zelensky.