Kremlin delaying Putin–Zelenskyy meeting: ISW reveals Russia's tactic

Analysts noted that Russian officials continue to stall high-level talks between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin, despite calls from the United States for such a meeting.

The report recalls that on July 25, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin remains unlikely. He emphasized that Russia and Ukraine must first reach agreements "through expert work.”

US President Donald Trump told reporters the same day that a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy "going to happen" and that the meeting should have "happened three months ago."

Experts at the Institute for the Study of War recalled that Russian officials have repeatedly postponed high-level talks between the Ukrainian and Russian leadership and have refused to engage in constructive negotiations aimed at concrete steps to end the war.

"ISW continues to assess that Russia is feigning interest in negotiations in order to buy time to make gains on the battlefield and extract concessions from Ukraine and the West - in stark contrast to Ukraine’s continued willingness to engage in negotiations to end the war," the report stated.

Peace talks in Istanbul

On Wednesday, July 23, a third round of talks between Ukraine and Russia was held in Istanbul, aimed at ending the war.

During the negotiations, the Ukrainian delegation proposed a mutual halt to strikes on critical infrastructure and suggested organizing a summit between Zelenskyy and Putin by the end of summer.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that both sides had reached a basic agreement to hold a leaders’ summit in Türkiye.

Preliminary reports suggest that the summit would also include the participation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and US President Donald Trump.

However, Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, did not respond when asked whether Moscow agreed to the proposal.