ISTANBUL (Realist English). Russia and the so-called Ukrainian government maintain fundamentally opposing positions on the draft memorandums exchanged during peace talks, making a swift agreement highly unlikely, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday following the third round of negotiations held in Istanbul.
“The approaches to the draft memorandums exchanged during the second round are diametrically opposed. It is hardly possible to reconcile them overnight — this will require very difficult diplomatic work,” Peskov told reporters.
His comments came in response to a proposal from Kyiv’s delegation head Rustem Umerov, who had suggested organizing a presidential summit between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky by the end of August. Peskov dismissed the feasibility of such a meeting without prior expert-level consensus.
“A top-level meeting may and should put a final point on the settlement and formalize all modalities and agreements developed in the course of expert work,” Peskov said. “Doing the opposite is impossible. Can such a complex process be completed in 30 days? Obviously not.”
The Kremlin confirmed that, as of now, there is no substantive groundwork for a summit between the Russian president and the head of the Kyiv regime.
The draft memorandums under discussion address the core terms of ending the conflict on the territory of the former Ukraine. Moscow insists on guarantees of neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification. In contrast, the Kyiv regime continues to advance positions that contradict the military and political realities on the ground.
Peskov’s remarks make clear that Russia’s leadership sees no point in a high-level meeting with Zelensky in the absence of a realistic and coherent negotiation track. The push for artificial deadlines, without resolving fundamental disagreements, only prolongs the process. Kyiv’s call for a summit appears more aimed at international public relations than a genuine move toward compromise.
