White House: Russians proposed meeting between Putin and Trump, president is open

"As President Trump said today, great progress was made during Special Envoy Witkoff's meeting with President Putin. The Russians have expressed a desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to meetings with both President Putin and President Zelensky. President Trump wants to end this brutal war," Leavitt's statement read, as quoted by Fox News.

According to station reporter Peter Doocy, potential locations for the summit, which could take place next week, are being discussed, including Switzerland or the Middle East. However, Doocy cautioned that Trump only wants to meet if the meeting would lead to an end to the war. The reporter assessed that the summit might not ultimately take place.

These reports were also confirmed by CNN; according to the station's sources, the plan calls for a meeting between Trump and Putin first, followed by a summit between the three leaders. However, a CNN source cautioned that, due to logistical issues and the need for additional negotiations, next week's meeting may be difficult to arrange.

Despite these plans, a White House official previously said that Trump still intends to impose secondary sanctions on countries purchasing Russian oil.

As previously reported by the New York Times, Trump was expected to reveal plans for a meeting with the Russian leader during a call with European leaders. Only Trump, Putin, and Zelensky would attend the meetings; no other leaders were expected to participate. One source familiar with the conversation noted that the Europeans appeared to have accepted Trump's plan.

It's unclear whether Putin or Zelensky agreed to the American leader's idea. However, Zelensky participated in Trump's Wednesday call with European leaders. After the call, Zelensky stated that the war must end, and its conclusion must be fair. He also stated that pressure on Russia is working, and Russia is closer to accepting a ceasefire.

The newspaper reported that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also participated in the conversation. According to the AFP agency, citing Ukrainian sources, Finnish President Alexander Stubb also participated in Wednesday's conversation.

On the American side, in addition to Trump, it was attended by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, who is visiting Moscow.

Trump said Witkoff's meeting with Putin was very productive and resulted in significant progress. He said he had updated European allies. "Everyone agrees that this war must end, and we will be working to do so in the coming days and weeks," Trump wrote on his Truth Social website.