The White House confirmed that talks for a bilateral meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are “underway” even as the Kremlin stays mum on its diplomatic plans.
“Both leaders have expressed a willingness to sit down with each other, and so our national security team will help both countries do that,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at Tuesday’s White House briefing.
In a Truth Social post, Trump announced Monday evening that the White House would begin setting up a time and place for Zelensky and Putin to meet, but the Kremlin has been noncommittal on the idea of a bilateral meeting. The announcement came after Trump sat down with Zelensky and European leaders to discuss the terms of a peace settlement. A few days earlier, Trump met separately with Putin in Alaska.
Leavitt faced a number of questions on the subject during her Tuesday briefing.
“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 told one reporter, failing to halt further inquiries.
“He has,” Leavitt responded when asked if Putin specifically “promised” to meet with Zelensky directly. “I just answered that question.”
Leavitt also fielded questions about the possibility of sending U.S. troops to enforce European security guarantees meant to uphold a peace between Ukraine and Russia. Trump said during a Tuesday morning interview with Fox & Friends that he would not send U.S. soldiers to Ukraine but was considering providing air support to the mission.
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“Look, that was something the president mentioned in his interview this morning,” the press secretary answered when asked about possible troop deployments. “It is an option and a possibility. I won’t certainly rule out anything as far as military options that the president has at his disposal. I’ll let him do that. I can tell you he’s definitively ruled out boots on the ground.”
Leavitt’s comments can be seen in full below.
