Russian insistence that any direct meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy occur only in Moscow continues to block high-level contact, as restated by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov after Zelenskyy signaled readiness for talks on the sidelines of the December 2026 G20 summit in Miami. U.S. mediation under President Trump has produced envoy visits to both capitals and calls for a settlement, yet no trilateral format or preliminary agreement has emerged to satisfy Moscow’s preconditions. Ongoing Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure and Ukrainian long-range operations sustain active hostilities without a ceasefire, while both sides tie any handshake to prior diplomatic or battlefield shifts. The G20 remains the nearest scheduled multilateral event that could test these positions.