Kremlin: No Preparations Yet for Putin-Trump Meeting at November APEC Summit

The absence of any preparatory work is itself the signal here: a leader-level meeting of this kind normally requires weeks of logistical and substantive groundwork, so 'not yet started' means the window for a substantive encounter is narrowing, not merely unconfirmed. The practical read is that both sides are keeping the option open without paying any political cost for it, which leaves the summit's diplomatic weight contingent on a planning decision that Ushakov pointedly did not schedule. Whether preparatory contacts begin at all is the open question.