**Ongoing US-mediated diplomacy and firm Russian conditions on venue shape expectations for any direct Putin-Zelenskyy meeting.** Zelenskyy recently signaled readiness to meet at the December 2026 G20 summit in Miami if invited, but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov immediately called such talks “impossible,” reiterating that Moscow insists on a meeting only in the Russian capital. Early September 2026 visits by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to both Moscow and Kyiv produced constructive but inconclusive discussions, with preparations noted for possible trilateral talks in October. Putin has consistently stated that any leaders’ meeting should follow expert-level agreements on core issues, including territorial demands, while battlefield operations and strikes on infrastructure continue. These positions, alongside the absence of prior bilateral summits, inform trader assessments of near-term prospects for a handshake.