Ukraine responds to Kremlin’s statement on possible Putin-Zelenskyy meeting

He was quoted by Russian media.

According to Peskov, the Kremlin doesn’t rule out a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, but says it would only be possible after some preliminary work is done.

“I want to remind you that President Putin himself hasn’t ruled out such a meeting, but only after the necessary groundwork is completed at the expert level,” Peskov said.

However, the Kremlin spokesman didn’t specify what exactly this “necessary groundwork” would involve.

Peskov also mentioned that the Kremlin isn’t ruling out a meeting between Putin and Trump’s special envoy, Witkoff, who may visit Russia on August 6-7.

Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, responded to Peskov’s comments. He said Ukraine is ready for a leaders’ meeting, and accused Russia of stalling.

“If the only issue is preparation, that’s not on us—we’re ready anytime. But endless ‘not ruling it out’ without a concrete date is unacceptable,” Yermak said.

He also thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for his commitment to ending the war and for wanting to help make the meeting happen.

• Earlier, President Zelenskyy had called on Russia to move beyond technical-level talks and engage in direct dialogue between the countries’ leaders.