India, Aug. 7 -- The White House on Wednesday said that Russia asked for a meeting between Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, and that the Republican was open to such an arrangement.

The statement comes after reports suggested that Trump could meet his Russian counterpart and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky as soon as next week in a renewed bid to end the war between Moscow and Kyiv.

"The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the president is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

AFP reported, citing a senior Ukrainian source, that Trump and Zelensky discussed the possibility in a call that also included NATO Se...