Recent U.S. diplomatic efforts, including envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s early September 2026 visits to Moscow and Kyiv plus a Trump-Putin phone call, have revived prospects for trilateral talks, with both Russian and Ukrainian officials signaling openness to resuming negotiations possibly in September or October. However, Putin rejected a direct bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy as recently as June 2026, citing lack of preconditions and prior incidents, while insisting any leader-level engagement requires prior agreement on core issues such as Ukrainian territorial concessions in Donbas. Zelenskyy has expressed readiness for talks in any format but continues to reject ceding territory or constitutional changes. Ongoing battlefield activity and wide gaps on security guarantees and land remain the primary constraints on a handshake occurring soon.