Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not rule out a personal meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Speaking to Russian media, Peskov noted that such a meeting “is not excluded,” but would only be possible after specific preparatory steps are completed.
“I would like to remind you that the president himself does not rule out the possibility of holding such a meeting,” Peskov said. “But only after the necessary work is done at the expert level and the appropriate distance is overcome.”
He added that, for now, that preparatory work “has not yet been done.”
The stance echoed Putin’s remarks from March, when the US first floated the idea of a ceasefire.
At the time, Putin said the 30-day ceasefire proposal is “good and we absolutely support it but there are issues that we need to discuss” before questioning the effectiveness of the proposal, naming a number of “conditions that need to be studied” such as the enforcement of the ceasefire alongside a front line that stretches for hundreds of kilometers.
As of Aug. 4, Moscow has yet to accept the unconditional ceasefire proposed by the US and endorsed by Kyiv.
On Aug. 1, Putin said his demands for Ukraine, outlined in summer 2024, remain unchanged.
During a meeting with Belarus’s self-proclaimed president, Alexander Lukashenko, Putin praised the Istanbul talks and stressed the need for a “long-term peace without time limits,” according to Russian media. If Ukraine isn’t ready to negotiate, he said, “Russia can wait.”
Lukashenko, seated next to Putin on a bench, claimed, “In a month, month and a half, two – the Russians will capture everything,” to which Putin corrected: “We will take it back – it’s ours.”
Putin also offered a dismissive remark in response to recent criticism from US President Donald Trump.
“Disappointments usually come from excessive expectations,” Putin said, a likely offhand remark at Trump’s public disappointment at Moscow’s lack of progress toward a ceasefire.
“Detractors spoke of the need for Russia’s strategic defeat on the battlefield,” he said, “but today they have a different passion – to stop the Russian offensive at all costs,” Putin added.
Putin insisted peace talks must remain “non-public,” calling for “calm, thorough discussions without cameras and political noise.”
“That’s exactly why we proposed the creation of three groups,” he said. “In general, the reaction of the Ukrainian side was positive... we could conduct such negotiations without cameras, without any political clamor, and seek compromises.”
Meanwhile, Trump has grown more impatient with the Kremlin. On July 4, he said he was disappointed in a recent call with Putin; on July 8, he added that Putin “talks a lot of nonsense.”
On July 14, Trump threatened 100% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil unless Moscow agrees to a peace deal within 50 days. On July 28, he tightened the deadline, giving Russia just 10-12 days to begin a ceasefire or face new US sanctions. The final deadline was later confirmed as August 8.