Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on conditions for any direct Putin-Zelenskyy meeting, with Moscow insisting talks occur only in the Russian capital after prior agreements and Kyiv rejecting that venue while offering to meet at neutral sites such as the December G20 summit in Miami. The Kremlin immediately dismissed Zelenskyy’s recent Miami proposal as impossible, citing its longstanding position. Recent U.S. diplomatic efforts, including early September visits by envoys to Moscow and Kyiv plus a Trump-Putin phone call, have kept trilateral negotiations alive with possible October talks under discussion, yet produced no breakthrough on core disputes over territory, security guarantees, or cease-fire terms. These dynamics, alongside Russia’s repeated statements that a leaders’ meeting requires substantial prior progress, shape trader assessments of near-term bilateral contact.