Kremlin Says No Grounds Yet for Ukraine Peace Talks

The Kremlin said Wednesday that conditions are not yet in place to restart Ukraine peace talks, even as Russia remains open to negotiations ahead of a planned meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow currently sees no basis for shifting the nearly five-year war toward a formal negotiating process.

“For now, there are no prerequisites for moving onto a peaceful negotiating track, although we, as the Russian side, remain open to peace talks,” Peskov told reporters.

His comments came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Tuesday that he was prepared to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in a trilateral format involving U.S. President Donald Trump. Zelenskiy expressed hope that Washington could persuade Moscow to return to negotiations after earlier diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war broke down.

Peskov said Putin would be prepared to meet Trump separately if both presidents concluded that direct talks were necessary. However, he indicated that Moscow’s position regarding a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy remains unchanged.

Russia has previously said Zelenskiy would need to travel to Moscow for such a meeting after decisions sought by the Kremlin had already been made. Kyiv has rejected that proposal as unacceptable, maintaining that any direct negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders should take place in a neutral country.

Peskov also sought to temper expectations of an imminent high-level summit, arguing that substantial diplomatic preparation would be required before leaders meet.

“Generally speaking, in any other circumstances, it would be inappropriate to hold a summit meeting before the groundwork has been laid at expert level, as this would be a waste of time,” he said.

The comments put renewed attention on the Rubio-Lavrov meeting in New York, as Washington and Moscow continue diplomatic contacts while major differences over the terms and location of potential Ukraine peace negotiations remain unresolved.