US President Donald Trump has stated that on 18 August, he did not speak with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in the presence of European leaders, as this would have been disrespectful to the Kremlin head.

Just after noon, European leaders including Macron, Starmer, von der Leyen, Rutte, and Meloni began arriving one by one at the White House. According to the White House schedule, Trump will first meet with Zelensky at 1:15 p.m. before greeting the European leaders, followed by a multilateral meeting with all parties at 3:00 p.m.