Trump-Zelensky meeting live: President pushes to end Ukraine-Russia war as he rules out US troops on the ground

General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, will host military leaders from Germany, the UK, France, Finland, and Italy in Washington this week.

A White House official confirmed talks will focus on how to implement security guarantees for Ukraine.

At today’s press briefing, the White House reiterated that American troops will not be deployed to Ukraine, even to enforce a potential peace agreement with Russia, though other forms of security guarantees remain an option.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the administration’s stance, stating: “The president has definitively stated U.S. boots will not be on the ground in Ukraine, but we can certainly help in the coordination and perhaps provide other means of security guarantees to our European allies.”

This comes as the possibility of U.S. air support in Ukraine is also being considered as an “option and a possibility.”

President Donald Trump is actively pushing for “direct diplomacy” between Russia and Ukraine, Leavitt confirmed. Trump is reportedly arranging a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the aim of a subsequent trilateral meeting involving himself, and the two leaders.

Addressing questions about the shift from a trilateral to a bilateral focus, Leavitt explained that President Trump has engaged with both leaders, who have expressed a willingness to meet. “The president has spoken to both leaders about this, and both leaders have expressed a willingness to sit down with each other, and so our national security team will help both countries do that,” she said.

Leavitt added that President Trump believes “there are areas of disagreement in this war that will have to be discussed and decided upon by these two countries, and so he wants these two countries to engage in direct diplomacy.”

The White House also addressed reports that President Trump spoke with Putin during a gathering of European leaders at the White House.

Leavitt defended the call, stating that the European leaders, whose countries are directly impacted by the conflict, were “very grateful that the president took that call and that he was there to provide them with a readout of Russia’s thinking on this, something that was not done by the previous administration at all.”

President Donald Trump’s August plans at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey have been cancelled due to ongoing Ukraine-Russia talks, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed during a tour of the newly paved White House Rose Garden.

“This is normally the time when the president goes on vacation, but not this president,” Ms Leavitt stated. She added that despite discussions about him working from Bedminster for a couple of weeks, “he decided against it.”

Leavitt further characterised President Trump’s work ethic, telling reporters: “He’s a man on a mission. He wants to move. Get things done quickly,” adding he wants to “strike when the iron is hot.”

On the timing of a potential trilateral meeting, Leavitt commented: “It’s hard to judge. I think he wants to see how the bilat goes.”

The first event at the White House Rose Garden, recently renovated and now featuring tables and umbrellas similar to those at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, will likely be a party for the White House press corps.

A photo circulating on social media, shared by Special Assistant to the President and Communications Advisor Margo Martin, captures Zelensky staring at a wall of red and white MAGA caps and other pro-Trump merchandise in a room — reminiscent of a gift shop — that appears to be part of the White House.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gifted President Donald Trump a golf club during their White House meeting on Monday.

The golf club was originally given to Zelensky by Kostiantyn Kartavtsev, a junior sergeant in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Kartavtsev lost his leg in the early months of Russia’s invasion, and golf was a part of his “rehabilitation,” according to a statement from Zelensky’s office.

The sport “helped him regain balance — both physical and emotional,” the release said.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Monday that he began making arrangements for a trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

A new poll shows that more than half of Americans want the U.S. to be “involved” in peace negotiations between the two countries.

A YouGov poll, released Tuesday, shows that 62 percent of Americans say the U.S. should be involved in peace talks, with 24 percent saying the U.S. should be “very” involved while 37 percent say it should be “somewhat” involved. By contrast, only 22 percent say the country should not be involved.

On Monday, Trump met with Zelensky and a group of European leaders at the White House, days after meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday.

The poll also revealed that 41 percent of Americans “strongly or somewhat approve” of Trump’s recent meeting with Vladimir Putin in Russia to discuss the war, while 38 percent disapprove.

Similarly, 35 percent of Americans said they approve of how Trump is handling the Russia-Ukraine conflict, while 45 percent disapprove.

Switzerland is open to hosting peace talks, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said Tuesday to SRF.

“We are ready for such a meeting, and we are thankful for the trust placed in us,” Cassis said, while at a diplomatic conference in Bern. “We have always signaled our willingness, but it, of course, hinges on the willingness of the major powers.”

Cassis said Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over his invasion of Ukraine, would be granted “immunity” if he were to attend such a meeting in the country.

“We have clarified the legal situation,” Cassis said. “We could hold such a meeting, and we know what needs to be done to ensure it goes smoothly. We can do this despite the arrest warrant against Putin because of our special role and Geneva’s role as the European headquarters of the UN.”

Other world leaders have said they’re on board.

Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has expressed support for the idea. “Geneva could be the right venue” for the meeting, Tajani told reporters in Bern, adding: “Italy is in favor of taking place in Geneva because it is a country that has always worked for peace-building.”

French President Emmanuel Macron also said he was backing Geneva to host the talks.

“It will be [hosted by] a neutral country, maybe Switzerland – I’m pushing for Geneva – or another country,” Macron told French channel LCI on Tuesday.