White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt responded to a journalist's question about whether Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying: "do it", DPA reported.
Levitt, who gave a press conference today, initially answered evasively to questions on this topic and refused to comment on possible locations for a possible bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky. She emphasized that only US President Donald Trump knows whether the Russian president is ready for such a meeting.
Levitt was faced with insistent questions about whether Putin had actually agreed to a bilateral meeting. Initially, the White House spokeswoman said: "I can assure you that the US government and the Trump administration, even as we speak, are working with both Russia and Ukraine to make such a bilateral meeting happen". Levitt gave a clear answer only after further inquiries were made, reports DPA.
Trump insists on ending the war in Ukraine and has hosted a series of meetings in recent days - first with Putin in Alaska, and then, on Monday, he received Zelensky and other European leaders at the White House.
The US president's plans include organizing a meeting between Putin and Zelensky within the next two weeks. After that, Trump expects a trilateral summit between Russia, Ukraine and the US, at which the conditions for ending the war will be discussed.
However, Russia is speaking more cautiously. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Rossiya-24 television today that Moscow is, in principle, ready for any negotiation formats. "But any contacts involving heads of state must be prepared in the most careful manner," he added.
Russia has previously rejected Zelensky's calls for a quick bilateral meeting with Putin. According to Moscow, an agreement must first be negotiated by lower-level delegations.
US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced that she was revoking access to classified documents from 37 current and former intelligence officials, whom she accused of "politicizing and manipulating intelligence information", Reuters reported.
Gabbard said on the social network "Ex" that she had taken this step on the orders of President Donald Trump.
The US Director of National Intelligence has repeatedly expressed the position that the US intelligence community is being weaponized, and last month the State Department Justice Department announced it was creating a task force to investigate the allegations.
In July, Gabbard called for the prosecution of former Democratic President Barack Obama and his administration officials, accusing them of engaging in a "treasonous conspiracy" to undermine Trump in 2016.
Trump, a Republican, has accused Obama of launching a campaign to tarnish his 2016 presidential election victory by trumping up claims of Russian interference. Trump has offered no evidence for his accusations. "These outlandish claims are absurd and a weak attempt to divert public attention," an Obama spokesman said.
Members of the Democratic Party have also rejected Gabbard's claim that there was a "treasonous conspiracy" in 2016. as false and politically motivated.
A January 2017 report by U.S. intelligence agencies found that Russia had spread disinformation on social media and carried out hacking attacks in an attempt to damage the election campaign of then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The report's authors said the actual impact of these actions was likely limited. The report did not provide evidence that Moscow's efforts had altered the outcome of the vote.
Russia has denied trying to interfere in the U.S. election.