(BBC News) US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska next Friday to discuss the future of the war in Ukraine.
Trump announced the August 15 meeting on social media, and it was later confirmed by a Kremlin spokesperson, who said the location was “quite logical” given Alaska’s relative proximity to Russia.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said any solutions must include Ukraine, adding he is ready to work with all partners towards a “lasting peace”.
The announcement of the meeting came just hours after Trump had signalled that Ukraine might have to cede territory in order to end the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.
“You’re looking at territory that’s been fought over for three-and-a-half years, a lot of Russians have died. A lot of Ukrainians have died,” Trump said at the White House on Friday.
“It’s very complicated. We’re going to get some back, we’re going to get some switched. There will be some swapping of territories, to the betterment of both.”
The US president did not provide further details of what that proposal would look like.
However, CBS News, citing sources familiar with the discussions, reports that the White House is trying to sway European leaders to accept an agreement that would include Russia taking the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine and keeping Crimea.
It would give up the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, which it partially occupies, as part of the proposed agreement, CBS reports.
Earlier on Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Putin had proposed a similar arrangement to Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff during a recent meeting in Moscow.
It remains unclear whether Ukraine and European allies would agree to such a deal, given Zelensky and Putin remain far apart on the conditions for peace.
Zelensky has previously rejected any preconditions for territorial concessions.
In a statement released on Telegram on Saturday, the Ukrainian president reiterated: “The answer to the Ukrainian territorial issue is already in the Constitution of Ukraine. No one will and cannot deviate from this. Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.”
“Any solutions that are against us, any solutions that are without Ukraine, are at the same time solutions against peace,” he said, adding that his country is ready for “real solutions” that bring peace.
“We are ready, together with President Trump, together with all partners, to work for a real, and most importantly, lasting peace – a peace that will not collapse because of Moscow’s wishes.”
One senior White House official told CBS that the planning for next Friday’s meeting was fluid, and it was still possible that Zelensky would be involved in some capacity.
Moscow has failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough in its full-scale invasion, but occupies around 20% of Ukraine’s territory. Ukrainian offensives, meanwhile, have not pushed the Russian forces back.
Three rounds of direct talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul have failed to bring the war closer to an end, and Moscow’s military and political preconditions for peace are seen by Kyiv and its allies as the de facto capitulation of Ukraine.
Russian demands include Ukraine becoming a neutral state, dramatically reducing its military and abandoning its NATO aspirations, as well as the lifting of western sanctions imposed on Russia.
Moscow also wants Kyiv to withdraw its military from the four regions that Russia partially occupies in southeast Ukraine, and to demobilize its soldiers.
Trump, however, insisted on Friday that the US had “a shot at” a trilateral peace agreement between the countries.
“European leaders want to see peace, President Putin, I believe, wants to see peace, and Zelensky wants to see peace,” he told reporters.
“President Zelensky has to get all of his, everything he needs, because he’s going to have to get ready to sign something, and I think he’s working hard to get that done,” Trump said.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dxed639n7o