Speaking to the press on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recalled that both Washington and Moscow have repeatedly stated their shared understanding that any summit must be effective. "And an effective summit is the subject of thorough and deep preparation," Peskov detailed.

"Therefore, as soon as this preparation is completed and the conditions for holding the summit are created, we expect it to be held," he added. He emphasized that it is currently difficult to predict when these conditions will be met. "Although, of course, we are all interested in these conditions being created sooner rather than later," he stressed.

Postponed Meeting

In late October, Trump announced the postponement of his meeting with Putin, which had been scheduled during their last phone conversation. "I didn't think it was right to meet with him. I didn't think we were going to get to where we had to get," he said.

For his part, the Russian leader reported that during the call, it was the American side that proposed holding another meeting in Budapest. "I agreed with that, but expressed my considerations on the matter and said that, without a doubt, this kind of meeting must be well prepared," the head of state stated. "Both for me and for the U.S. President, it would be a mistake to take it lightly and come out of the meeting without the expected result," he added.

The Need for Concrete Results

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized—referring to the statements from both presidents, who made it clear they did not want to waste time "meeting just for the sake of meeting"—that "for their meeting to be fruitful, work must have been carried out at the level of the heads of state, the Russian Foreign Minister, and the U.S. Secretary of State."

In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that Moscow also needs "guarantees that the meeting between the presidents will yield concrete results," adding that Russia is prepared for this.

The leaders had a historic meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15. This October, when asked if the "momentum from Anchorage" had been exhausted, the Russian leader noted that both had agreed to "reflect" on a plan to end the Ukrainian conflict by "peaceful means," which—he stated—are "complex issues that require deeper analysis."

Moscow has repeatedly emphasized its readiness to resolve the Ukrainian crisis through diplomatic channels, pointing out that its root causes should be addressed, such as NATO expansion and the discrimination of Russian speakers in Ukraine. Thus, Putin indicated during the summit with Trump that Moscow wants to achieve a lasting and sustainable peace, not a temporary ceasefire.