White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that she could “neither confirm or deny” the potential location of proposed talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Why It Matters

The prospect of a trilateral meeting came up after Trump hosted Putin for a summit at a U.S. military base in Alaska on Friday, in which he tilted toward Putin’s demands that Ukraine make concessions over land seized by Russia. Trump had previously suggested the possibility of “land swaps” between Russia and Ukraine, though Putin has not offered to give up any Russian land as part of a deal.

Trump then met with Zelensky and other European leaders at the White House on Monday to discuss the status of the United States’ ongoing effort to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, which Putin launched without provocation in 2022. That meeting ended with Trump signaling an openness to some security guarantees for Ukraine, though it’s unclear what that would consist of.

What To Know

Leavitt was asked on Tuesday about a Politico report that said the White House is considering Budapest, Hungary, as the location of a trilateral meeting between Zelensky, Putin and Trump.

“I can neither confirm or deny reports about location, but we will have more information on that soon,” the press secretary told reporters.

Politico cited a Trump administration official and a person close to the administration in its reporting.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is a close ally of Putin, including in the years since the Russian leader invaded Ukraine. His far-right government has been accused of a slew of human rights violations, dismantling Hungary’s legal system and eroding press freedoms, among other things.

The Kremlin has not yet said whether Putin has signed off on Trump’s effort to set up direct talks with Zelensky. But Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday that Putin pledged to Trump that he would meet directly with the Ukrainian president.

Trump also said on Monday that Putin had agreed to accept security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a potential comprehensive peace agreement. He added that he was pressing for three-way talks between himself, Zelensky and Putin.

But after speaking with the Russian leader later in the day, Trump said he was arranging first for a face-to-face between Zelensky and Putin and that a trilateral meeting could follow if necessary.

What People Are Saying

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said of Trump’s push for three-way talks: “It was an idea that evolved in the course of the president’s conversations with both President Putin, President Zelensky and the European leaders yesterday.”

When a reporter said the Kremlin seemed to indicate Putin hadn’t firmly agreed to a Zelensky meeting, Leavitt pushed back:”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.”

What Happens Next

The White House is hammering out the details of a possible Putin-Zelensky meeting, and Leavitt said she will share more information about the time and location when they’re finalized.

Update 8/19/25, 3:02 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.