Kremlin doubts Putin-Trump-Zelensky meeting possible in near future

MOSCOW. June 3 (Interfax) - A trilateral meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump is unlikely in the near future, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Truth be told, this is unlikely to happen in the near future. The thing is that President Putin has repeatedly emphasized his readiness for summit contacts, while stressing that such contacts must result from the agreements to be elaborated at the technical level, at the expert level. So, President Putin supports such contacts but thinks they should be well prepared," Peskov said.

He thus commented on the White House's statement, which said that Trump was open to a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelensky and answered a question on whether such a meeting is possible in the near future.

Meanwhile, a new contact between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump could be arranged quite fast if necessary, but there are no such agreements at this point, Peskov said.

"If it [contact] becomes necessary, it can be organized quite fast, but there are currently no such agreements," Peskov told journalists.

Journalists wanted Peskov to clarify whether there are plans for a new contact between the Russian and U.S. leaders following the latest round of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul, as it was done after the previous round.

Russia and the United States continue to maintain communication channels, Peskov said when asked whether Moscow plans to inform Washington about its view on results of the talks.

"We have channels for dialogue with the American side and continue to use these dialogue channels for communication," Peskov told reporters.