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Kremlin Rules Out Zelensky–Putin Summit Before Final Accord

Moscow demands expert-level accords before any summit meeting, dimming Kyiv’s prospects for an August face-to-face

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy gestures during a press conference on the first day of the two-day Ukraine Recovery Conference, on plans for the reconstruction of Ukraine, in Rome, Italy, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with VTB Bank President and Chairman of the United Shipbuilding Corporation Management Board Andrey Kostin and United Shipbuilding Corporation Director General Andrei Puchkov, in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region, Russia July 24, 2025. Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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Ukraine has been pushing for a meeting between the two leaders

Overview

  • Ukraine’s delegation formally proposed a Zelensky–Putin summit by the end of August during Istanbul talks this week.
  • Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any leaders’ meeting must be the final step after detailed expert-level agreements, making an August summit unlikely.
  • President Zelensky affirmed that negotiators have begun discussing a leaders’ summit as a step toward ending the war.
  • Talks on July 23 in Istanbul lasted just 40 minutes and yielded only prisoner exchanges and the creation of online working groups on political, military and humanitarian issues.
  • Both sides remain entrenched on ceasefire terms and territorial sovereignty as President Trump’s 50-day ceasefire deadline nears and fighting continues.