UN Secretary-General António Guterres voiced his support on Tuesday for recent American-led efforts to negotiate a peaceful settlement to the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Responding to a journalist’s question about Monday’s meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump, and several European leaders, Stéphane Dujarric, Gueterres’ spokesperson, stressed the importance that “all involved continue to stay actively engaged in what we want to see as an inclusive dialogue to sustain the important momentum that was created to bring an immediate ceasefire and sustainable peace in Ukraine.”

Dujarric said that the appropriate line of action of the UN would be to play a supportive and flexible role. When asked about a potential meeting between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said, “It is obviously important that those parties who are directly involved in this conflict be able to speak to each other directly.” On peacekeeping, he maintained that peacekeeping missions would be required to pass through the UN Security Council (UNSC), where Russia and the United States both hold permanent seats and wield veto power over all substantive resolutions.

The secretary-general’s statement follows Monday’s high-profile meeting at the White House, where Trump invited leaders from Ukraine, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the EU, and NATO. The meeting has been interpreted positively for those hoping for increased US aid to Ukraine and involvement in diplomatic efforts. Trump told Zelenskyy that the US would join Europe in providing security guarantees to Ukraine as a component of a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. “When it comes to security, there’s going to be a lot of help,” Trump said.

Mark Rutte, the secretary-general of NATO, praised Trump’s consideration of security guarantees as a “breakthrough” that “makes all the difference” in ending the war.

On Tuesday, Trump told “Fox and Friends” that Europe would “front load” security commitments, giving his assurance that the US would not commit boots on the ground. Instead, he indicated that countries including France, Germany, and the UK were likely to contribute troops to a peace plan.

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff had said that Putin agreed to “game-changing” security guarantees when he met Putin in Alaska on Friday for peace talks. However, Russian Foreign Minister Segei Lavrov clarified that Russia would only agree to security guarantees provided on an equal basis with the participation of Russia and China, suggesting that Russia has not retreated from a maximalist negotiating position.

According to the latest UN reports, aproximately 12.7 million people in Ukraine, equal to 36 percent of the population, require humanitarian assistance. As Russian attacks continue even hours before the peace talks, July 2025 was the month with the highest civilian casualties in this conflict amounting to 286 killed mainly by aerial bombs.