Russia on Friday ruled out an immediate meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, as diplomatic tension with the Ukrainian president escalated and US mediation efforts appeared to stall. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said “no meeting” between Vladimir Putin and Zelensky was planned,

A summit in Paris six years ago was the first and only time the two presidents ever met, flanked by French president Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s then-chancellor Angela Merkel. At the time, Putin and Zelensky were looking to hash out a ceasefire deal for war in Donbas in Ukraine’s east, where Russia-backed forces were fighting Ukrainian troops.

The Kremlin is keeping its options open, but analysts said the Russian leader would probably only meet with his Ukrainian counterpart to accept a capitulation.

Why it matters: Putin has shown no interest in sitting down with Zelensky through 3.5 years of war. President Trump claims that's now changed, and that a presidential meeting is the key to unlocking peace.

Doing so would require the Russian leader to “accept the failure of sitting down with a president he considers a joke from a country that doesn’t exist”

DONALD Trump said it is virtually impossible to set up a meeting between Putin and Zelensky as his efforts continue to be frustrated. Zelensky has said he is ready and willing to meet – but

The Kremlin hasn't ruled out summits but has said they could only meet in the very final stages of clinching a peace agreement.