The White House has announced the 'team' tasked with facilitating the Putin-Zelensky meeting.
Top US officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff, will be the ones arranging the Putin-Zelensky summit.
According to The Hill, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on August 19 that the US is seeing a "real opportunity" to achieve a peaceful solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and that Washington will push for talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
"Before Mr. Trump returned to the White House, there was no indication that the fighting in Ukraine would stop. But now we have a real opportunity for lasting peace. The talks between Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelensky are seen as the next phase in the peace process," Ms. Leavitt said.
According to the White House spokesperson, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff will be the US officials leading the effort to facilitate negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.
"President Trump spoke by phone with President Putin and he agreed to begin the next phase of the negotiation process," Leavitt added.
In an interview on August 19, Trump expressed his hope that Zelensky "will show flexibility and do what is necessary" to reach a peace agreement with Russia.
The official time and location for the meeting between Putin and Zelensky have not yet been announced. However, Switzerland and Hungary are emerging as potential options.
