WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will hold talks in Alaska next Friday (Aug 15) in a bid to end the war in Ukraine, which was triggered by Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
Trump has spent his first months in office trying to broker peace – after boasting he could end the war in 24 hours – but multiple rounds of peace talks, phone calls and diplomatic visits have failed to yield a breakthrough.
Here is what we know about the summit so far:
WHEN AND WHERE
On his Truth Social site on Friday, Trump announced that his meeting with Putin would be held in the far-north US state of Alaska on Aug 15, which was later confirmed by the Kremlin.
The announcement came after days of both sides indicating the two leaders would hold a summit next week.
The Kremlin confirmed the summit in Alaska on Friday, calling it “quite logical”.
“They would like to meet with me, I’ll do whatever I can to stop the killing,” Trump said on Thursday, speaking of both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
At the White House on Friday, Trump said “there’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” Ukraine and Russia, without providing further details.
WHY ALASKA?
The meeting will be held in Alaska, which Russia sold to the United States in 1867.
The western tip of the state is not far – just across the Bering Strait – from the easternmost part of Russia.
“Alaska and the Arctic are also where our countries’ economic interests intersect, and there are prospects for large-scale, mutually beneficial projects,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said in a statement on Telegram.
“But, of course, the presidents themselves will undoubtedly focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis,” he added.
Ushakov also expressed hope that next time the two presidents would meet on Russian territory.
“A corresponding invitation has already been sent to the US president,” he added.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Putin – which obligates members to detain the Russian leader if he visits their country – had been thought to narrow the potential number of venues.
Putin had previously mentioned the United Arab Emirates as a possible host for the talks, while media speculated Turkey, China or India could be possible venues.
