Headline Roundup • August 20th, 2025
White House, Kremlin, and Media Offer Split Framing on Prospect of Putin-Zelenskyy Summit
Ukraine War,Trump Administration,Donald Trump,Russia,Vladimir Putin,Ukraine,Eastern Europe,Volodymyr Zelensky
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Russian President Vladimir Putin has “agreed to begin the next phase of the peace process, a meeting” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. However, media across the spectrum have offered different reports.
The Details: Fox News (Right bias) highlighted that Leavitt’s comments came during her press briefing on Tuesday. She added that a trilateral meeting also involving Trump would follow “if necessary.”
Trilateral in Budapest: On Monday afternoon, Politico (Lean Left) reported the Trump administration “is planning for a possible trilateral meeting between” Putin, Zelenskyy, and Trump in Budapest, Hungary. Politico anonymously cited “a Trump administration official and a person close to the administration” as its sources.
Russian Posture: BBC News (Center) reported that on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov “watered down that already vague commitment.” Lavrov said the meeting would have to come together “gradually... starting with the expert level and thereafter going through all the required steps.” The BBC described this comment as “a frequent Kremlin line.”
Other Media Reports: Politico also noted Lavrov’s comments in a separate article, headlined, “Moscow waffles on Putin-Zelenskyy summit as Trump escalates pressure.” Newsweek (Center) highlighted that when asked about Politico’s Budapest report, she said she could “neither confirm or deny reports about location” but “will have more information on that soon.” The New Republic (Left) noted that Leavitt “was forced” during her Tuesday press briefing “to walk back” the claim that Putin had agreed to a meeting with Zelenskyy. When a reporter said the Kremlin didn’t officially confirm a bilateral meeting, she said the administration “is working with both Russia and Ukraine to make that bilateral happen as we speak.”
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Featured Coverage of this Story
Alex Brandon/AP
The White House is planning for a possible trilateral meeting between the U.S., Russian and Ukrainian presidents in the Hungarian capital of Budapest as the next steps in negotiating an end to the years-long war, according to a Trump administration official and a person close to the administration.
The U.S. Secret Service is preparing for the summit in the Central European nation led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has been close with President Donald Trump since the American president’s first term in office.
The Kremlin has played down talk of an imminent summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, as Donald Trump renewed his call for the two leaders to meet to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
The push for a bilateral meeting comes after the US president met Putin in Alaska last week, and welcomed seven European leaders and Zelensky to the White House on Monday.
Trump admitted the conflict was "a tough one" to solve and conceded it was possible the Russian president was not interested in...
In a major step toward ending the years-long war, Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made the announcement during Tuesday's press briefing. She clarified that "if necessary" there could be a trilateral meeting involving the U.S. after Putin and Zelenskyy meet.
"President Trump spoke with President Putin by phone, and he agreed to begin the next phase of the peace process, a meeting between President Putin and President Zelenskyy, which would be followed, if necessary, by a trilateral...
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