Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov outlined the condition under which a meeting of the leaders of the United States, Ukraine, and Russia could take place. In his words, a summit involving Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be pointless without prior preparation of a final document. The Kremlin emphasized that a potential meeting should put a period to already-developed agreements, rather than serve as a platform for initial negotiations.
A summit as a finale, not a start
Russian leadership insists that the format of a "trilateral" summit is appropriate only at the final stage of a settlement. As Peskov explained, working out joint decisions will require serious efforts from all sides, so the logic of holding the meeting solely to sign a ready-made text appears to be the only acceptable option for the Kremlin. This approach, in essence, shifts the main work of drafting the text to preceding rounds of negotiations and leaves the summit as merely a procedural act of recording the outcome.
A "primitive agreement" is ruled out
Separately, the Kremlin representative drew attention to the complexity of the subject matter. According to Peskov, the issue cannot be resolved in the form of a "primitive agreement," since it involves a complex of interconnected contradictions. This statement can be interpreted as a signal that Moscow does not expect a quick and simplified path to a peace text and is building its scenario around prolonged, multi-stage work on the details.
Context: strikes and Kyiv's position
The statement came against the backdrop of the Kremlin leadership continuing to put forward conditions for a cessation of hostilities and commenting on regular strikes on Ukrainian territory. In particular, Vladimir Putin stated that the massive attacks are "effective and timely" and, in his words, help the Russian army carry out its tasks on the front. Kyiv assesses such rhetoric differently: First Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Serhiy Kyrychenko noted that, in his assessment, Putin is not inclined toward peace negotiations, betting on pressure on civilians and expecting that Ukrainians will not survive the winter period.
Contradictory data
It is important here to note the discrepancy in the positions of the parties. The Kremlin formally allows for the holding of a summit, but sets a strict condition — the existence of a ready final document, i.e., a meeting only at the finale. The Ukrainian side, conversely, through Kyrychenko's statement, asserts that the Russian leader is in fact not intent on conducting full-fledged negotiations and is using military pressure as a tool. Thus, one side speaks of readiness to "formalize agreements," while the other says that Moscow has no real negotiating intent. The difference in interpretation of what stage the process is at remains the key contradiction in the public communication of the two capitals.
