白宫新闻秘书卡罗琳·莱维特星期二被问及为什么乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基没有被邀请参加星期五在阿拉斯加举行的峰会。莱维特说，这次会晤是应俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京的请求进行的，这一请求是在威特科夫上周与普京会晤后由特使史蒂夫·威特科夫转达给特朗普的。
莱维特对记者说:“总统这次会议的目标是带着对我们如何结束这场战争的更好理解离开。”
美国广播公司新闻高级政治记者雷切尔·斯科特问莱维特，在特朗普与普京交谈之前，泽连斯基是否给了特朗普任何红线或不可逾越的障碍。
“听着，我不想透露总统和泽连斯基总统之间的私人谈话，但是我可以告诉你的是，总统非常尊重卷入这场冲突并试图结束这场冲突的所有各方，”莱维特回应说。
莱维特补充说:“我认为这是总统的一次倾听练习。听着，这场战争只有一方会出席。因此，这是总统要去做的，再次获得更坚定和更好的理解，了解我们如何有希望结束这场战争。”
White House: Trump-Putin meeting a 'listening exercise'
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked on Tuesday why Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wasn't invited to Friday's summit in Alaska. Leavitt said this meeting came at Russian President Vladimir Putin's request, relayed to Trump by special envoy Steve Witkoff after Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow last week.
"The goal of this meeting for the president is to walk away with a better understanding of how we can end this war," Leavitt told reporters.
ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott asked Leavitt if Zelenskyy has given Trump any red lines or nonstarters ahead of his conversation with Putin.
"Look, I don't want to reveal the private conversations between the president and President Zelenskyy, but what I can tell you is that the president has deep respect for all parties that are involved in this conflict and are trying to bring this conflict to an end," Leavitt responded.
Leavitt added, "I think this is a listening exercise for the president. Look, 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."
