Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
In a clear signal of hardened positions and strategic caution, the Kremlin has firmly ruled out the possibility of a near-term summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, citing the absence of the necessary political and security conditions. Russian officials emphasized that any such meeting would require a fundamentally new environment, one built on mutual concessions and a framework for lasting security.
Speaking to Russian media, a senior Kremlin official outlined Moscow’s current priorities, which include establishing a security arrangement that explicitly prohibits the deployment of foreign troops on Ukrainian territory. The Russian government is advocating for the creation of internationally monitored de-escalation zones, but only under the supervision of neutral parties deemed acceptable by Moscow.
A central demand remains the formal international recognition of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the four additional Ukrainian regions it claims Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia before any summit can be considered.
“This will be a prolonged process,” the official stated, noting that formal preparations for any high-level negotiations will only begin once preliminary agreements are reached on border demarcations and long-term security guarantees. The Kremlin, he added, will continue to maneuver politically to protect its negotiating position while keeping diplomatic channels open, including potential European or American mediation efforts.
Reinforcing this stance, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated that a summit between Putin and Zelensky would require careful preparation to be meaningful and productive, thereby downplaying any likelihood of such a meeting taking place in the foreseeable future. He also firmly rejected proposals from Western capitals suggesting the deployment of European forces in Ukraine, stating that such moves would be seen as direct escalations.
Peskov reminded the international community that preventing NATO military presence on Russia’s borders was one of the primary motivations for the Kremlin’s military campaign launched in February 2022.
Meanwhile, military tensions remain high. Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported shooting down 26 Ukrainian drones overnight, most of them over the southern region of Rostov. One drone’s debris reportedly caused a fire in a residential building in the city of Rostov-on-Don. Additional drones were intercepted over the regions of Oryol, Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk, as cross-border attacks between Russian and Ukrainian forces continue on a near-daily basis.
Across the Atlantic, U.S. President Donald Trump has intensified his rhetoric, threatening Moscow with severe economic sanctions unless Russia shows “serious intent” to pursue a peace deal. Trump has publicly pushed for a direct summit between Putin and Zelensky “as soon as possible,” warning that continued war could escalate into a “devastating economic war” against Russia.
His administration has proposed various neutral venues for such a meeting, including Budapest, while France’s President Emmanuel Macron suggested Geneva. Switzerland has offered to host the talks and even to grant Putin temporary immunity from international prosecution to enable dialogue.
However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the notion of a rushed summit, insisting that talks must begin at the technical level and only after a comprehensive draft of a peace treaty is developed. “There can be no shortcuts to a final agreement,” Lavrov said, signaling Moscow’s reluctance to participate in any symbolic summit without substantive groundwork.
Earlier this month, Trump held a bilateral meeting with Putin at the Elmendorf-Richardson base in Alaska, attempting to persuade the Russian leader to agree to direct talks with Zelensky. Yet, sources close to the Kremlin later confirmed that Russia sees “no necessity” for such a meeting at this stage, a clear blow to Trump’s foreign policy strategy, which places ending the Ukraine conflict as a central campaign promise.
Analysts in Washington argue that Moscow’s delaying tactics complicate Trump’s efforts to present himself as a credible peace broker ahead of the upcoming U.S. election. Senator Lindsey Graham warned of sweeping sanctions against Russia if it continues to stall, while experts like Charles Kupchan and Andrew Weiss cautioned that Trump’s peace plan could be doomed from the outset due to the stark divide between Russia’s demands and Ukraine’s non-negotiable positions.
Amid these diplomatic tensions, Ukraine announced a temporary easing of travel restrictions on men aged 18 to 22, a move that may be aimed at preserving labor flexibility or signaling confidence in military manpower.
In the current climate, observers believe that Russia prefers to continue its military campaign to consolidate territorial gains that could strengthen its hand in eventual negotiations. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is attempting to sustain diplomatic momentum to avoid the optics of failure. As it stands, a potential Putin-Zelensky summit remains a distant prospect, with the future of the war and any diplomatic resolution deeply entangled in geopolitical rivalries and strategic deadlock.
