Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, but imposes the condition that preparatory work be done, the Kremlin said Monday, just days before the deadline set by US President Donald Trump for the two countries to reach a truce agreement in the conflict that has dragged on for more than three years.

"I would like to remind you that the President does not rule out such a meeting after the necessary work has been completed at the expert level and the necessary distance between the two sides has been bridged," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. However, he stressed that this preparatory work"has not yet been done."

Zelensky had already requested a meeting with Putin."We know who's in charge in Russia, and so Ukraine is once again offering to go beyond technical talks—not exchanging statements, but a real meeting at the leadership level," he wrote in X on August 1.

Putin had already expressed his intention to continue peace negotiations, noting that Russian troops"are advancing along the entire front line."

Peskov's comments come just days before Donald Trump's deadline for the two warring countries to reach a ceasefire agreement expires, under penalty of new sanctions being imposed on Russia.

Trump's initial deadline was 50 days, but on July 29, during an official visit to the United Kingdom, the US President shortened it to"10 to 12 days" because he was "disappointed with Putin." The following day, Trump specified that the deadline would be 10 days, ending next Thursday.