Peskov stated that Putin does not rule out a meeting with Zelensky given “proper preparation”

Vladimir Putin does not rule out the possibility of a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the condition of “good preparation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a briefing, as reported by TASS. Peskov reminded that Putin’s position is that a high-level meeting must be well prepared in order to “finalize the groundwork that should first be carried out at the expert level.”

Peskov also added that Russia does not see progress in the negotiation process on Ukraine; however, Moscow remains interested in a settlement. “So far, it cannot be said that expert work is in full swing. Unfortunately, no, it isn’t. We maintain our interest and our readiness for such negotiations,” the Kremlin representative said. Putin’s spokesman repeated that Russia had presented its position on resolving the conflict in writing and passed it to the Ukrainian side. He stressed that these are draft positions that now need to be discussed.

The presidential spokesman was also asked about remarks by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan regarding Russia’s alleged readiness for territorial concessions in resolving the Ukrainian conflict. Peskov replied that the details of the summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are deliberately not disclosed “in the interests of settlement.”

The possibility that Putin and Zelensky could meet to discuss the situation in Ukraine was first mentioned on August 19 by US President Donald Trump, who earlier that month held a summit with the Russian leader in Alaska and later met with Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. Afterward, Trump spoke with Putin by phone and then announced the start of preparations for a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, to be followed by trilateral negotiations among Russia, the US, and Ukraine. In addition, on August 19, the US president gave an interview to Fox News in which he said that, in his opinion, the deployment of troops from countries such as France, Germany, and Britain in Ukraine would not be a “problem” for Russia.