According to an Anadolu English report of Wednesday night of 25 February 2026, the Kremlin has said that any trilateral summit involving the United States’ (US), Russian and Ukrainian Presidents – Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy respectively – should be held solely to formalize a peace agreement, rather than to conduct negotiations.
Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, was responding to comments made last week by US Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, who suggested that a potential meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy could take place, with the possible participation of Trump, as part of ongoing efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Speaking to Russian journalist, Pavel Zarubin, in remarks later shared on Telegram, Peskov stressed that Moscow sees limited value in convening leaders without clear outcomes already agreed upon. “It’s worth agreeing here that the three presidents should only meet to finalize agreements or, as the Americans say, a deal. This is probably true,” Peskov said.
According to the Kremlin spokesman, the conditions for such a meeting do not currently exist, citing what he described as Kyiv’s stance in the talks. Peskov said that the likelihood of a direct meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents remains uncertain as long as Ukraine maintains its present negotiating approach.
He identified territorial issues as the most contentious element in the discussions, calling them the “most difficult” aspect of the talks. Peskov went on to accuse Ukraine of failing to seek workable compromises or propose realistic options for a settlement, an accusation that Kyiv has repeatedly rejected in past statements.
The comments came amid renewed diplomatic activity from Washington. Witkoff said in an interview with Fox News on Saturday that the US is “hopeful” it has delivered proposals to both Moscow and Kyiv that could help bridge differences. He suggested that these efforts might bring the two sides closer “in the next three weeks,” and could eventually lead to a high-level summit.
Witkoff also said that the primary obstacles to reaching an agreement are concentrated “at the leadership levels.” He added that Trump would not want to participate in a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, “unless he feels that he can consummate this thing and get the best result.”
Despite the differing assessments from Moscow and Washington, no date or format has been announced for any potential summit, and negotiations continue amid deep divisions over territory, security guarantees and the terms of a possible ceasefire.
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