US President Donald Trump has announced plans to convene a face-to-face summit between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Trump’s proposal on Monday came as he hosted Zelenskyy and top European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, at the White House for high-stakes talks on ending the conflict in Ukraine.
Trump said he had “begun arrangements” for the summit after speaking with Putin by phone, and that he would hold a trilateral meeting with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts following their two-way meeting.
“Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
“Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine.”
More images of Trump, Zelensky, and European leaders meeting at the White House
Follow: https://t.co/mLGcUTSA3Q pic.twitter.com/7r8L3PTDci
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) August 19, 2025
Zelenskyy, who described his meeting with Trump as a “very good conversation”, told reporters that he was “ready” to meet the Russian leader one-on-one.
Moscow did not confirm that it had agreed to a summit, but Russia’s state-run TASS news agency cited presidential aide Yuri Ushakov as saying that Putin and Trump “spoke in favor of continuing direct talks” between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
Lavrov Refuses to Commit to Summit
For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov refused to commit to a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but stopped short of ruling out further talks.
In comments to Russian state media, Lavrov prevaricated over a possible bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky, which has been backed by US President Donald Trump.
“Any contacts involving top officials must be prepared with the utmost care,” Lavrov said Tuesday.
“We do not refuse any forms of work – neither bilateral nor trilateral,” Lavrov stressed, without committing to any.
Meanwhile, Lavrov reiterated that Trump has been invited by the Kremlin to visit Russia, for a potential follow-up meeting after last week’s summit in Alaska.
Lavrov said again that Trump has an invitation to visit Russia.
“At the press conference in Alaska, President Putin confirmed this invitation, and Donald Trump, if I remember correctly, said that it was very interesting,” Lavrov said.
Source: Agencies
