White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that US Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and US Presidential Representative Steve Witkoff will coordinate work with Russia and Ukraine to ensure the Putin-Zelensky meeting.
She confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his readiness to hold a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone conversation with Donald Trump.
Leavitt clarified that Trump spoke with both leaders, and they supported the idea of direct negotiations. According to her, the US national security team is working to organize this meeting, as Trump has advocated direct diplomacy between Russia and Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict to resolve differences.
“Donald Trump does not want to wait another month for further meetings on the Ukraine issue and is in favor of new contacts as soon as possible. The United States will discuss with Russia acceptable security guarantees for Ukraine. The United States does not rule out air support as a guarantee of Ukraine’s security. To make a “good deal” on Ukraine, both sides must be somewhat dissatisfied,” she said.
At the same time, Leavitt stressed that there will be no American troops on Ukrainian soil.
“But we can certainly help with coordination and possibly provide other security guarantees. There is light at the end of the tunnel in resolving the Ukrainian crisis. Putin has agreed to start the next phase of the peace process,” she stressed.
