Kremlin Signals No Shift in Ukraine Stance Before Lavrov-Rubio Meeting

The Kremlin stated on Wednesday that no grounds exist for Ukraine peace talks, despite remaining open to them, ahead of a planned New York meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is open to talks but sees no prerequisites for a peaceful negotiating track. This follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's Tuesday offer to meet Vladimir Putin at a trilateral meeting with Donald Trump. Peskov reiterated that Putin would meet Trump one-on-one if necessary, but Russia's stance on a Putin-Zelenskiy meeting is unchanged, requiring Kyiv to come to Moscow with pre-agreed decisions. He dismissed summit prospects without expert-level groundwork.