Zelenskyy Says He and Carney Agree Putin Seeking to ‘Buy Time’ With Trump Meeting

Prime Minister Mark Carney walks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a morning session at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alta., on June 17, 2025. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke ahead of a meeting between U.S. and Russian leaders this week, with Zelenskyy saying the two agreed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using the meeting as a stalling tactic.

“We see it the same way, and it is obvious that the Russians simply want to buy time, not end the war,” Zelenskyy said in his Aug. 11 readout of the call with Carney. The Ukrainian leader said Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure prove that Putin does not want to end the war.

Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump are set to meet in Alaska on Aug. 15.

The meeting comes as Trump has ramped up pressure on Putin in recent weeks, promising increased sanctions on Russia if peace is not reached. Trump has also increased pressure on major buyers of Russian oil such as India, threatening to raise tariffs against it to 50 percent on Aug. 27.

The readout from Carney’s office did not include comments about Putin’s purported intentions around his upcoming meeting with Trump. The readout mentions Carney and Zelenskyy welcome Trump’s leadership in trying to secure a peace deal, something not mentioned in Zelenskyy’s account of the call.

The Epoch Times contacted the Prime Minister’s Office for comment on Zelenskyy’s remarks but did not immediately hear back.

A common theme in the separate readouts are calls for Ukraine to be involved in decisions about its own future and for the country to obtain security guarantees in the event of a peace deal.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and the two countries have since been at war. Russia has captured swathes of territory from Ukraine, while Ukraine has been backed by Western powers.

Zelenskyy said he spoke with Carney about the diplomatic work and communications being conducted with unspecified partners as they coordinate “joint decisions” and prepare their “next aligned steps.”

Various European leaders issued a joint statement on Aug. 9, saying they welcome Trump’s work to facilitate peace. “We are convinced that only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war can succeed,” said the statement from the leaders of France, Italy, Germany, Poland, and the European Union.

Zelenskyy also wrote about “various meeting formats” being under discussion with partners, without elaborating.

This likely refers to a potential meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin if Trump’s meeting goes well. There are no guarantees this will be the case, and Trump shared his thoughts on the matter at length during a press conference at the White House on Aug. 11.

“I’m going to go and see the parameters,” Trump said, referring to the conditions for reaching a peace deal. “Now, I may leave and say, ‘good luck,’ and that will be the end. I may say, ’this is not going to be settled.'”

Trump said reaching a deal between the two countries will involve land swapping and may require some compromises from both sides. He noted how Russia has captured some “very prime” Ukrainian territory along the Black Sea.

Russia had already annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, which had no land connection to Russian territory. Now, Ukraine’s shorelines east of Crimea have come under Russian occupation.

The joint statement by European leaders said the current line of contact between Ukrainian and Russian troops should be the starting point of negotiations.

Trump said if he believes a “fair deal” can be made he will call Zelenskyy first “out of respect,” along with EU and NATO leaders. Zelenskyy has not been invited to the Trump-Putin meeting.

Trump and Zelenskyy have had a rocky relationship, with the U.S. president being a rare critic of his Ukrainian counterpart among Western allies. He spoke critically of Zelenskyy on Aug. 11, suggesting Zelenskyy has not been conducive to stopping the war.

Zelenskyy has expressed support for Trump’s efforts to bring peace, saying Ukraine has backed all U.S. proposals since February. “The President of the United States has the levers and the determination” to end the war, he said on Aug. 9. Zelenskyy has called for immediate and lasting peace instead of a temporary ceasefire.

The meeting on Aug. 15 will be the first time Putin will visit the United States since 2015, when he had attended the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. It follows a visit to Moscow by U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff last week.

The Kremlin said on Aug. 9 the location of the meeting in Alaska makes “sense” given the two countries are separated by the Bering Strait.

“It is in Alaska and in the Arctic that the economic interests of our countries converge and prospects for implementing large-scale mutually beneficial projects arise,” said Putin aide Yuri Ushakov in a statement.

“However, the presidents will undoubtedly focus on discussing ways to reach a sustainable settlement to the Ukraine crisis.”