A meeting Russian president Vladimir Putin and the American leader Donald Trump will be held on August 15 in Alaska, announced the aide of the Russian president Yuriy Ushakov.
"The American side has just announced that an agreement has been reached on the organization of a meeting between Russian and American President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump on Friday, August 15, in Alaska. Russia and the USA are close neighbors, bordering each other. And it seems quite logical that our delegation simply flies over the Bering Strait and that such an important and expected summit of the leaders of the two countries takes place in Alaska," said the representative of the Kremlin.
In addition, Ushakov stated that the leaders will focus on considering options for achieving a long-term peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis, and that Moscow and Washington will work out the parameters of the meeting in the next few days, but that it will not be an easy process.
According to him, the next summit could be held in Russia, where Trump has already been invited.
The economic interests of the two countries intersect in Alaska and the Arctic, and prospects for the realization of large projects are also visible, Uลกakov said, reports Sputnik.
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy said the state was ready to host the meeting, noting that it was a suitable location for the event due to its geography and history.
The summit will most likely be held in Anchorage and no security problems are expected, Troy Buffard, director of the Center for Arctic Security and Resilience at the University of Alaska, told Sputnik.
Russian President Vladimir Putin received the US President's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in the Kremlin on Wednesday. After the meeting, the assistant to the Russian president, Yuri Ushakov, confirmed that Moscow and Washington agreed on the meeting between Putin and Trump in the coming days, and preparations have already begun.
"Some Exchange of Territory"
US President Donald Trump said that the end of the three-and-a-half-year war between Russia and Ukraine would have to mean "certain exchange of territories" and that the issue would be discussed soon, but he did not give further details.
Bloomberg reported on Friday that the deal could consolidate some of Putin's territorial gains in Ukraine, which in practice would mean freezing the front lines in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. Putin has declared four Ukrainian regions part of Russia, although much of their territory remains under Ukrainian control.
According to Bloomberg, US and Russian officials were working on a deal that would see Russia halt its offensive in exchange for territorial concessions - a politically sensitive proposition in Ukraine.
In recent months, as the war entered its third year, Trump has publicly displayed frustration with Putin, and the Russian president has continued nightly missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, despite Trump's claims that he could reach a deal within 24 hours of becoming president.
"Putin talks nice and then at night he bombs everything. So there's a bit of a problem there," Trump said last month.
Zelensky: Ukraine will not give the land to the occupiers
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said early Saturday (August 9) that "Ukrainians will not give their country to the occupiers" after Trump said an end to the war must include "some exchange of territory."
The President of Ukraine said that Kiev is ready for real solutions that could bring peace, but that any solutions without Ukraine would be against peace.
"All decisions against us, all decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace. They will achieve nothing," he said, adding that the war "cannot end without us, without Ukraine," reports the Guardian.
Russia has stepped up attacks
By the way, in the last few months, Russia intensified its attacks on Ukraine, which achieved gradual but noticeable progress on the front - especially in the Donetsk region, where the city of Kurahovo and, as they claim, almost the entire town of Chasov Yar, were captured. The Ukrainian side denied this information.
In the north, in the Sumy region, Russian forces broke through the Ukrainian defenses and expanded the controlled territory through a number of smaller villages, while in the east of the Donbass, they also recorded progress.
At the same time, the Ukrainian units that entered Russia's Kursk region last year are under pressure and are in danger of being completely surrounded.
Although the Russian offensive is progressing, Ukrainian forces are still resisting, using drones and local counterstrikes to slow further Russian troop penetration.
Sources: Sputnik/Bloomberg/Guardian
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