Kremlin says Trump-Putin-Zelenskyy meeting should take place only to finalize peace deal

The Kremlin said Wednesday that a trilateral summit between US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should take place only to finalize a peace deal.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted to remarks by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff last week, who hinted at a potential summit between Putin and Zelenskyy with the possible participation of Trump.

"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 told Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin, an excerpt of which was shared on Telegram.

He argued that the prospect of a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents is uncertain as long as Kyiv maintains its current negotiating position amid the peace talks.

Peskov described the issue of territories as the "most difficult" in negotiations, going on to accuse Ukraine of not seeking to find options for a settlement.

The remarks come as Witkoff told Fox News on Saturday that Washington is "hopeful" it has put proposals to both Russia and Ukraine, which could bring them together "in the next three weeks" and potentially result in a summit.

Witkoff stated he thinks the main difficulty in reaching an agreement lies "at the leadership levels," and that Trump does not want to take part in a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy "unless he feels that he can consummate this thing and get the best result."