White House Says Trump-Putin Meeting Is a ‘Listening Exercise’

“Only one party that’s involved in this war is going to be present and so this is for the president to go and to get, again, a more firm and better understanding of how we can hopefully bring this war to an end,” said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.

“This is a listening exercise for the president.”

Trump will meet one-on-one with Putin during the talks, which will take place in Anchorage, Alaska, the White House said. He may, in the future, also visit Russia.

“Perhaps there are plans in the future to travel to Russia,” said Leavitt.

Key issues remain ahead of the talks. Trump has said the two sides will need to cede land to end the bloody three-and-a-half-year-old conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said his country’s constitution prohibits such a deal and that no arrangements can be made without Ukraine’s participation in talks. 

The White House declined to comment on conversations taking place prior to the Putin meeting between Trump and Zelenskiy. Trump said on Monday that Zelenskiy may be invited to a future meeting with Putin.

“The president has deep respect for all parties that are involved in this conflict and are trying to bring this conflict to an end,” said Leavitt.