**Russia maintains that any direct meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy must occur in Moscow with security guarantees, while Ukraine insists on a neutral venue such as Turkey, Switzerland, or the UAE.** Recent exchanges at the UN General Assembly in September 2026 highlighted this divide, with Zelenskyy signaling openness to a trilateral format involving U.S. President Donald Trump and rejecting Moscow as the site. Putin has stated repeatedly that he remains willing to meet if Zelenskyy travels to the Russian capital, citing prior readiness after Russia's September Duma elections but blaming Ukrainian drone strikes for disrupting momentum. U.S. mediators have proposed technical-level trilateral talks in the UAE and explored leader-level options, including around the December G20 summit in Miami, though the Kremlin has dismissed the latter. Ongoing military operations and differing conditions on territorial issues, neutrality, and security guarantees continue to shape the low likelihood of an imminent bilateral summit.