diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 8d29613..ef7b247 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -2,11 +2,15 @@ project(
   'vs-templ',
   ['cpp'],
   version: '0.3.4',
+  meson_version: '>= 1.1',
   default_options: ['cpp_std=c++20'],
 )
 
-pugixml_proj = subproject('pugixml')
-pugixml_dep = pugixml_proj.get_variable('pugixml_dep')
+pugixml_dep = dependency('pugixml', version : '>=1.14.0')
+if pugixml_dep.found() == false
+  pugixml_proj = subproject('pugixml')
+  pugixml_dep = pugixml_proj.get_variable('pugixml_dep')
+endif 
 
 vs_templ_lib = library(
   'vs-templ-lib',