Top U.S. and European military officials discussed Tuesday the mechanics of a possible Ukraine peace deal, a day after President Donald Trump ruled out American boots on the ground but suggested providing air support.
In a flurry of diplomacy aimed at ending the war, Trump brought Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders to the White House on Monday, three days after his landmark encounter with Russia's Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
But while Trump said Putin had agreed to meet Zelenskyy and accept some Western security guarantees for Ukraine, those promises have been met with extreme caution by Kyiv and Western capitals, and many details remain vague.
Putin proposed holding the summit with Zelenskyy in Moscow, three sources familiar with a call between Trump and the Russian leader told AFP. One source said Zelenskyy immediately said no to meeting in the capital of his country's invader.
The U.S. president nevertheless said he remained "optimistic" about the process after having met separately with Putin and Zelenskyy.
"Now I thought it would be better if they met without me, just to see," Trump told conservative host Mark Levin on his syndicated radio show Tuesday. "We'll see how they do."
As Western leaders push for an agreement, top U.S. officer Gen. Dan Caine held talks Tuesday evening with European military chiefs to discuss "best options for a potential Ukraine peace deal," a U.S. defense official told AFP.
The in-person talks precede a Wednesday virtual meeting of military chiefs from NATO's 32 member countries.
Trump, long a fierce critic of the billions of dollars in U.S. support to Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022, earlier said European nations were "willing to put people on the ground" to secure any settlement.
"France and Germany, a couple of them, U.K., they want to have boots on the ground," Trump told Fox News.
"We're willing to help them with things, especially, probably, if you talk about by air."
Asked what assurances Trump had that U.S. troops would not be sent, he replied: "Well, you have my assurance and I'm president."
The White House later doubled down on Trump's statements – but gave few new details on the summit or security guarantees.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump "has definitively stated U.S. boots will not be on the ground in Ukraine" and that use of U.S. air power was an "option and a possibility."
She insisted Putin had promised Trump he would meet Zelenskyy, and said top U.S. officials were "coordinating" with Russia on a summit.
Trump had dramatically interrupted his Monday meeting with Zelenskyy and the Europeans to call the Russian leader.
Pressed by radio host Levin about Trump's method for such crunch negotiations, the president said: "It's probably instinct more than process."
Allies have expressed doubts that Putin will go through with the bilateral meeting, but the Europeans are eyeing a possible peace deal following the Trump talks.
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer held virtual consultations with around 30 of Ukraine's allies, known as the "Coalition of the Willing."
Starmer told them coalition teams and U.S. officials would meet soon to "prepare for the deployment of a reassurance force if the hostilities ended," a Downing Street spokesperson said.
Russia has warned that any solution must also protect its own "security interests" and has ruled out Ukraine joining NATO.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov added that any meeting between the leaders "must be prepared very thoroughly."
Lavrov's comments, and Putin's offer of Moscow as a summit venue, reinforced European fears that Russia was once again stalling.
Macron said he favored Geneva, a historic venue for peace talks. Switzerland expressed readiness to offer immunity to Putin, who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over the war.
Another potential site for a follow-up three-way summit, including Trump, is Budapest.
"Could be," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News when asked whether Hungary's capital could be the location. "We've got to get through the (meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy) first."
On the streets of Kyiv, there was skepticism about whether the latest talks can end the grinding conflict.
"The main problem is Putin himself doesn't want it," said Anton, a 32-year-old warehouse worker.
But in Moscow, some were more optimistic. "I hope we can agree on mutually beneficial terms," said government employee Vyacheslav, 23.
