Karoline Leavitt reveals major progress in Ukraine-Russia peace talks

In a major step toward ending the years-long war, Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made the announcement during Tuesday’s press briefing. She clarified that “if necessary” there could be a trilateral meeting involving the U.S. after Putin and Zelenskyy meet.

“President Trump spoke with President Putin by phone, and he agreed to begin the next phase of the peace process, a meeting between President Putin and President Zelenskyy, which would be followed, if necessary, by a trilateral meeting between President Putin, President Zelensky and President Trump,” Leavitt said on Tuesday.

Leavitt said that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff would “continue to coordinate with Russia and Ukraine to make this happen as soon as possible,” and added later, “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.”

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The announcement comes just one day after Zelenskyy and several European leaders gathered at the White House to debrief following Trump’s high-stakes summit with Putin in Alaska. Leavitt highlighted European leaders’ praise for Trump following the Alaska and D.C. summits. 

 “I think in the past two weeks, we’ve probably had more progress in ending this war than we have in the past three-and-a-half years,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb said.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed the sentiment and acknowledged that for three-and-a-half years “nobody has been able to bring it to this point.”

President Donald Trump and European leaders gather for a multilateral meeting in the White House on Aug. 18, 2025. (REUTERS/Alexander Drago)

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Additionally, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte thanked Trump and credited the president for breaking a “deadlock” when it comes to getting Putin to the table.

Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, German…