Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia remains "open to peace talks" but stressed that, for now, the conditions needed to start negotiations have not been met.
The statement came ahead of a scheduled meeting in New York between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, a diplomatic encounter the Kremlin says will not automatically trigger a peace process.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Tuesday that he is prepared to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at a trilateral summit that would also involve former U.S. President Donald Trump, hoping the United States could bring Moscow to the negotiating table.
Peskov reiterated that President Putin is willing to meet Trump one‑on‑one if both leaders deem it necessary, but he made clear that Russia’s position on a direct meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy has not changed.
According to the Kremlin, any meeting between Zelenskiy and Putin would have to take place in Moscow, a demand Kyiv has repeatedly rejected as unacceptable, insisting that any talks should be held in a neutral country.
Peskov also downplayed the prospect of a broader summit, saying that holding a summit before expert‑level groundwork is laid would be "inappropriate" and a "waste of time" under any other circumstances.
The Kremlin’s comments underscore the diplomatic deadlock surrounding the war that entered its fifth year in early 2026, and signal that while high‑level contacts are being arranged, substantive peace negotiations remain distant.