US President Donald Trump has ruled out sending American ground troops into Ukraine, as the war-torn nation's allies build a "reassurance force" that could be deployed under a possible peace agreement.
Monday's White House peace talks have triggered a flurry of further meetings about how to give security guarantees to Ukraine under any prospective deal with Russia.
Leaders from "coalition of the willing" nations — which include Australia — held a virtual meeting and would "prepare for the deployment of a reassurance force if the hostilities ended", the office of British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said.
They were also considering further sanctions on Russia, his office said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed on X he took part in the meeting.
NATO military leaders are expected to meet on Wednesday.
Mr Trump was meanwhile asked on Fox News about "assurances" that there "won't be American boots on the ground defending that border".
He said: "Well, you have my assurance, and I'm the president."
But he suggested the US could provide air support for peacekeeping troops from coalition-of-the-willing nations.
"They're willing to put people on the ground. We're willing to help them with things, especially, probably, if you talk about by air," he said.
Question marks over Putin–Zelenskyy talks
US officials were also working to set up a bilateral meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin "as soon as possible", Ms Leavitt said.
It followed a phone conversation between the US and Russian presidents on Monday, after which Mr Trump said he had begun arranging the meeting.
On Tuesday, he said he told Mr Putin: "We're going to set up a meeting with President Zelenskyy, and you and he will meet, and then after that meeting if everything works out OK, I'll meet and we'll wrap it up."
But Mr Putin is yet to publicly commit to the bilateral meeting, and the Kremlin only said he and Mr Trump discussed "the prospect of exploring opportunities for drawing higher-ranking officials" into direct talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations.
Mr Trump told Fox News: "I hope President Putin is going to be good — if he's not, it's going to be a rough situation.
"And I hope that Zelenskyy, President Zelenskyy, will do what he has to do. He has to show some flexibility also."
During the 25-minute phone interview, Mr Trump repeatedly praised the European leaders involved in Monday's talks but also spoke about his warm relationship with Mr Putin.
"I mean, you saw that when he got off his plane, I got off my plane [in Alaska last week]. There's a warmth there … and it's a good thing, not a bad thing," Mr Trump said.
"People will say: 'Oh, that's such a terrible thing.' It's not a terrible thing. We've got the most nuclear weapons in the world, and the most powerful. He's got second."
Budapest, Geneva touted as sites for talks
There is still no date or location for the Putin–Zelenskyy meeting.
The Swiss government said it would grant Mr Putin immunity from an International Criminal Court arrest warrant if the meeting was held in Switzerland.
"Geneva could work, actually," Finnish President Alexander Stubb told NBC News, but added it was ultimately a decision for Mr Putin and Mr Zelenskyy.
French President Emmanuel Macron also said he supported Geneva hosting the meeting.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt was asked about a Politico report that said the administration was considering Budapest for a possible subsequent trilateral meeting including Mr Trump.
"I'm not going to confirm or deny locations," she said.
Russia, meanwhile, continued to launch attacks while world leaders met to discuss the pathway to peace.
It launched 270 drones and 10 missiles in an overnight attack on Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said — the largest this month.
The energy ministry said Russia had targeted energy facilities in the central Poltava region, home to Ukraine's only oil refinery, causing big fires.
Russia also returned the bodies of 1,000 dead Ukrainian soldiers on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said.
Moscow received 19 bodies of its own soldiers in return, according to the state-run TASS news agency.
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