When talk of a possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky surfaced after discussions at the White House, it sounded—at least briefly—like momentum was building. US President Donald Trump had floated the idea in a call with Putin, and American officials hinted at progress.
But Moscow’s reaction told a very different story. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov spoke carefully, saying only that there was discussion about “raising the level of representatives” for negotiations. Noticeably absent was any commitment to an actual face-to-face between the two leaders.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov tried to keep the door open in a state TV interview, saying Russia didn’t rule out any format for talks. Still, he stressed that top-level meetings must be “prepared with the utmost care”—diplomatic language for not anytime soon.
Why Putin Won’t Commit
The hesitation isn’t surprising. Putin launched this war after recognizing parts of eastern Ukraine as “independent republics,” framing Ukraine not as a sovereign nation but as historically tied to Russia. Agreeing to sit across the table from Zelensky would mean acknowledging the very legitimacy Putin has spent years denying.
As Orysia Lutsevich of Chatham House explains, such a meeting would force Putin into a major climbdown. Russian state media has relentlessly portrayed Zelensky as a “Nazi,” a Western puppet, and even an illegitimate leader. Reversing that narrative would be a hard sell to the Russian public.
On top of that, the Kremlin keeps casting doubt on Zelensky’s authority, pointing to postponed elections under martial law. Official statements often avoid using his name, referring instead to “the Kyiv regime.” Symbolically, when direct talks were held earlier this year in Turkey, Zelensky showed up in person while Putin sent a historian from his delegation.
Analysts argue Putin’s real battle is not with Ukraine alone but with the West as a whole. Tatiana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center says that, while Putin doesn’t see meeting Zelensky as crucial, he could be persuaded if the terms were stacked in his favor—namely if Ukraine agreed to give up territory it still controls. For now, Zelensky has flatly rejected that idea.
This is where Trump comes in. Moscow views him as someone who might pressure Kyiv into concessions, potentially making a Putin–Zelensky meeting worth the risk. Until then, Russia seems more comfortable keeping talks at the “representative” level rather than elevating them to the presidential stage.
Trump initially sounded triumphant, posting on social media that he had begun arrangements for a Putin–Zelensky meeting. But by the next morning, speaking on Fox News, his tone shifted. He admitted the decision ultimately lay with the two leaders, not him.
That reflects the reality: Putin has little incentive to bend. Without offering any concessions, he has already gained international attention, a high-profile summit with Trump, and the softening of earlier demands like a ceasefire before negotiations. Meanwhile, Russia has kept up its pressure on Ukraine militarily, launching hundreds of drone and missile attacks in August alone.
At this stage, Putin has no reason to rush into a direct meeting with Zelensky. For him, sitting down would mean legitimizing a leader he has spent years undermining. Unless Trump or another outside actor manages to shift the balance, the Kremlin seems more likely to stall with lower-level talks than risk the optics of a handshake with Zelensky.
And if the latest peace effort falls apart, the question isn’t whether Putin will take the blame—it’s who Trump will point the finger at.
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