Washington, 20 August 2025 (dpa/MIA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the White House said on Tuesday, as Kiev's allies work to hammer out the details of security guarantees for Ukraine to support a possible peace deal.

Asked repeatedly by reporters at a press conference whether Putin had committed to a direct meeting in the coming weeks, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt eventually replied: "He has."

Leavitt had previously responded evasively to questions on the subject, declining to comment on possible locations for a bilateral meeting.

When pressed on whether Putin had actually agreed to a bilateral meeting, Leavitt initially stated: "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." Only after further questioning did she give a clear answer.

The White House information matches earlier statements from German government sources, who said on Tuesday that Putin had agreed in a telephone conversation with Trump to participate in a bilateral meeting with Zelensky.

According to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the Putin-Zelensky meeting is planned for within the next two weeks.

Trump is pushing for a solution to the war in Ukraine and has hosted a series of meetings in recent days - first in Alaska with Putin on Friday, then in Washington with Zelensky and other European leaders on Monday.

The plans include arranging a Putin-Zelensky meeting, followed by a trilateral summit with Trump to discuss the conditions for ending the conflict.

However, the tone from Moscow has been more cautious. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on state television on Tuesday that Moscow is, in principle, open to any format for talks.

"But all contacts involving the heads of state must be prepared with the utmost care," he added.

Russia has previously used this reasoning to reject Zelensky's calls for a quick meeting with Putin.

Europeans turn to security guarantees

European countries are working intensively on the details of reliable security guarantees for Ukraine, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told dpa on Tuesday.

"Firstly, we will take into account the progress of the negotiations, secondly a possible contribution from the US and thirdly the consultations with our closest partners," he said.

Security guarantees against further Russian attacks are seen as a basic prerequisite for Ukraine to make concessions in negotiations.

At Monday's meeting in Washington, leaders discussed a guarantee modelled on NATO's Article 5, which stipulates that NATO states can count on the support of their allies in the event of an attack.

Trump on Tuesday ruled out the deployment of US ground troops to Ukraine, pointing to the willingness of some European countries.

In an interview with US broadcaster Fox News, he said he assumed that Germany, France and the United Kingdom were prepared to send troops to Ukraine to secure a possible peace.

Trump said they were "willing to put people on the ground", and added: "We're willing to help them with things, especially probably if you could talk about by air, because there's nobody has the kind of stuff we have."

Russia has so far categorically rejected the deployment of troops from NATO countries to Ukraine.

EU Council president optimistic

European Council President António Costa said on Tuesday there was "growing momentum around providing Ukraine with security guarantees," after hosting a virtual summit with EU leaders to discuss Monday's Ukraine talks in Washington.

"Now is the time to accelerate our practical work to put in place a guarantee similar to NATO's Article 5 with continued United States engagement," Costa said in a statement issued following the online meeting.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also hosted a video meeting on Tuesday of the so-called "coalition of the willing," a group of countries which have said they are ready to contribute to ensuring Ukraine's security in the event of a peace deal.

He said military leaders from the group of nations are set to meet with US partners this week to nail down the details of possible security guarantees and advance preparations for the deployment of peacekeeping forces in the event of a ceasefire.

French President Emmanuel Macron had previously warned against a hasty peace agreement without safeguards.

"This peace must not be rushed and must be backed by solid guarantees, otherwise we will be starting over again," Macron told broadcaster TF1/LCI in an interview that aired on Tuesday.

Photo: epa