White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, US, August 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Al Drago

Previously, US President Trump held meetings with President Putin, President Zelensky, and several European leaders to discuss the conflict in Ukraine. Following these exchanges, the White House is now arranging a Putin–Zelensky meeting under President Trump’s auspices.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said "President Trump spoke with President Putin by phone, and he agreed to begin the next phase of the peace process, a meeting between President Putin and President Zelenskyy, which would be followed, if necessary, by a trilateral meeting between President Putin, President Zelensky and President Trump."

Leavitt said that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff would "continue to coordinate with Russia and Ukraine to make this happen as soon as possible," and added later, "I can assure you that the United States government and the Trump administration is working with both Russia and Ukraine to make that bilateral happen as we speak."

She added that President Trump has ruled out deploying US troops to Ukraine as part of security guarantees in any potential peace deal with Russia.