Trump 'very disappointed' with Putin as Zelenskyy meeting stalls

US President Donald Trump has said he was "very disappointed" with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid a continued deadlock over plans for a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"I am very disappointed in him. He and I always had a great relationship. I’m very disappointed," Trump said in an interview with the Scott Jennings Radio Show on Tuesday.

The comments followed Trump’s August meetings with both leaders — first with Putin in Alaska on August 15 and then with Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House three days later.

Trump had said at the time that a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting would follow, eventually leading to a trilateral session including himself.

But the Kremlin has downplayed the prospects, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterating on Wednesday that talks could continue only if "new territorial realities" were recognised and formalised in legal terms.

Lavrov also said any settlement must include security guarantees for both sides and ensure Ukraine’s "neutral, non-aligned, and non-nuclear status."

Trump said Russia could face penalties if the meeting fails to materialise.

"Yeah, there will be," he told reporters in the Oval Office.

‘Despicable manner’