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”

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

In a day of diplomatic maneuvers, Europeans argued that Kyiv should not yield key cities, and Trump designated Rubio to draft security guarantees.

President Trump had suggested a meeting between Russia and Ukraine’s leaders could be a potential next step on the path to peace. Russian state news media barely mentioned the idea.

The president's sudden openness to offering NATO-style security guarantees to Ukraine has drawn a sharp rebuke from his hardcore allies.

President Trump seeks to broker a meeting of the two leaders to end Europe’s most destructive war in generations.

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.