Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin has no immediate plans to travel or meet Trump.
U.S. President Donald Trump has declared that meaningful progress in Ukraine peace talks cannot happen until he meets personally with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump dismissed ongoing negotiations in Istanbul, stating: “Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together. Okay? He wasn’t going if I wasn’t there… we’re going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying.”
His comments come amid renewed efforts for ceasefire talks in Turkey, with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky ridiculing Russia’s delegation as “stand-in props.”
The Kremlin responded with sharp rhetoric: Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova labeled Zelensky a “dummy” and “loser,” while Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called him “pathetic.”
Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, during a visit to Albania, blamed Putin for delays in reaching a ceasefire. “It’s Putin who is standing in the way of peace,” Starmer said.
Russia’s chief delegate, Vladimir Medinsky, said Moscow seeks to address the “root causes” of the conflict, signaling no shift in its negotiating stance.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin has no immediate plans to travel or meet Trump.