White House: Putin has promised meeting with Selenskyj

She had previously answered questions on the subject evasively on several occasions. She did not want to comment on possible locations and initially only emphasized that US President Donald Trump knew of Putin's willingness for a meeting because he had spoken to him himself on the phone on Monday. When journalists asked whether Putin had actually agreed to a bilateral meeting, Leavitt initially stated: "I can assure you that the US government is currently working with Russia and Ukraine to bring about this bilateral meeting." Only when asked further did she finally give a clear answer.

So far, however, Moscow has been more reserved. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on state television that, in principle, Moscow was open to any format for talks. "But all contacts involving the heads of state must be prepared extremely carefully," he added. Russia had previously used this argument to reject Zelenskyi's demands for a quick meeting with Putin. According to Moscow, lower-level delegations must first negotiate an agreement.