US President Donald Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage on Alaska on Friday (August 15), and the White House confirmed on Tuesday, August 12.
Anchorage is the location of half between Washington and Moscow and offers neutral ground for what could be sensitive discussion.
Trump says it will know in the “first two minutes” if possible Putin
Trump said on Monday that he expected to find out almost immediately whether his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin could bring an agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
“At the end of this meeting, probably the first two minutes, I will know exactly whether the agreement can be concluded,” Trump told reporters during the White House press conference, which announced plans for the federal takeover of police forces in Washington in the fight against crime.
Friday’s sitting on Alaska will be “really meeting with the goal,” Trump said, adding, “It will be good, but it may be bad … I can say,” Good luck, continue to fight. “Or I can say,” We can agree. ” ”
Ceasefire vs territorial gains
Since its February 2022, Putin has been trying to provide Russian profits on the battlefield while Trump is pushing on a ceasefire that has remained elusive. Critics in Ukraine and Europe are afraid that any agreement to Moscow could incline, especially if it intervened without direct involvement of Kyiva.
Green absence from the table
When he joined the interviews that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zlensky was included in the interviews, Trump said, “Zelenkyy was at many meetings … nothing happened.”
Trump suggested that a subsequent meeting may include “Zeletskyy and Putin” or “Putin and Zelskyy and me”. He added that after a meeting on Alaska he would call Zeletskyy and European leaders to “tell them what kind of agreement – I will not agree. It is not up to me to agree.”
Complicated relationship
Trump’s tone towards Putin and Zlensky has moved in recent months. Soon in his administration he criticized Zelena – even in February threw him out of the oval office after challenging his gratitude for the US support. He also expressed frustration from Putin for not moving faster to the ceasefire.
European leaders are pushing back
With Kiev and European leaders so far excluded from the Alaskan summit, Germany has announced that on Wednesday it will host a virtual meeting concerning Trump, Zlenic, NATO chief and other European leaders.
The German Chancellor spokesman Friedrich Merz Steffen Meyer stressed: “The border must not be moved by violence … Ukraine should decide its own fate independently and autonomously.”
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