The White House said that Putin promised Trump he would meet directly with Zelensky

The White House has confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin promised U.S. President Donald Trump he would meet directly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Press Secretary Caroline Levitt made the statement during a briefing.

“While preparing for the trip to Alaska, much attention was given to a possible trilateral meeting of the three leaders. Can you explain how the focus shifted to a bilateral meeting without President Trump’s participation?” a journalist asked.

Levitt replied:

“The President has spoken with both leaders on this issue, and both expressed readiness to meet with each other. Therefore, our national security team will help both countries organize this. Ultimately, the President has always said that the disagreements in this war should be discussed and resolved directly by the two countries. He wants them to conduct direct diplomacy. He has said this from the very beginning, and so he agrees with the idea of a meeting between President Zelensky and President Putin. My understanding is that preparations for this meeting are already underway. As soon as there are new details, we will share them with you.”

Earlier, the White House stated that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Representative Stephen Witkoff would coordinate with Ukraine and Russia to expedite the meeting between the two presidents.

Trump himself previously said that he had begun preparations for a meeting between Zelensky and Putin. After it, a trilateral summit is expected to take place with Trump’s participation.