The Kremlin ruled out a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before achieving major progress on a peace deal, raising doubt on ending the war before President Trump’s proposed 50-day deadline.

Ukraine has called for a peace summit to be held between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky by the end of August, urging Moscow to show it is serious about wanting to end the war.

The Kremlin said on Friday that a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could only happen as a final step to seal a peace deal. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that it was unlikely that such a meeting could occur by the end of August,