DONALD Trump and Vladimir Putin’s historic one-on-one meeting will be a “listening exercise”, the White House has said.
Friday’s summit comes as Volodymyr Zelensky revealed the Russians want Ukraine to withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region as part of a ceasefire deal.
AFPUS President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a meeting in 2017[/caption]
APUkrainian soldiers of 43rd artillery brigade fire self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions[/caption]
The pair will meet in Alaska on Friday for the historic summit
Speaking at a news briefing in Kyiv, Zelensky said Russia’s position was conveyed to him by US officials ahead of Friday’s summit.
He reiterated that Ukraine would not withdraw from territories it controls because it was unconstitutional and would only serve as a springboard for a future Russian invasion.
Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, also hinted that the President might travel to Russia after he misspoke yesterday and said he was considering it.
Not ruling out a possible trip, she said: “Perhaps there are plans”.
This would mean giving up the remaining 30 per cent of the Donetsk region and would leave almost the entirety of the Donbas in Russia’s bloody hands.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin hit out at Britain, accusing it of trying to disrupt the peace talks after Sir Keir Starmer warned the Russian leader cannot be “trusted”.
The Russian embassy in London slammed No10 and said: “We note the ongoing attempts by London and some of its partners to disrupt a peace resolution of the conflict by eliminating its root causes.
“This is clearly demonstrated by the statements and activity developed by the British leadership in the run-up to the Russian-American summit in Alaska.”
Sir Keir backed Trump’s plans but urged caution.
The PM’s official spokesman said: “Never trust President Putin as far as you could throw him, but we obviously will support Ukraine.
“Any ceasefire cannot just be an opportunity for President Putin to go away, re-arm, restrengthen, and then go again.”
Trump said on August 8 that he hopes to hold a meeting with Putin in Alaska on August 15.
Washington and Moscow are said to be eyeing a deal to put an end to the bloody conflict in Ukraine – but it may not be all good news for Kyiv.
Trump told reporters in The White House that Zelensky is “going to have to get ready to sign something” in order to bring peace to his nation.
Top diplomats from the US and Russia and currently working on an agreement to finalise post-war territories, senior officials told Bloomberg.
Sources said Trump’s team is trying to get Ukraine and its European allies on board to get a peace deal that would see Kyiv make some concessions.
One major sticking point for Moscow is the annexation of Ukrainian territory – one of Putin’s long-term demands.
Zelensky has been adamant that Ukraine will not accept any further annexation of its land.
Although he suggested Russia could be allowed to retain some of the land it has taken.
Moscow is likely to demand that Ukraine cede its entire eastern Donbas area to Russia, as well as Crimea – which Moscow annexed in 2014.
This means Ukrainian troops will need to withdraw from the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk – the regions still being held by Kyiv.
In return, Moscow would stop its offensive in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine along the current battlelines, according to the officials.
Kyiv risks being presented with a take-it-or-leave-it offer during the high-stakes meeting.
ReutersAn explosion of a drone lights up the sky over the city during a Russian drone strike[/caption]
GettyTrump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t rule out Trump heading to Russia[/caption]
Zelensky has told European leaders they must reject any settlement proposals by the US that demand Ukraine give up further land.
Trump announced on Friday that the only way to resolve the issues is for both sides to accept losses of land.
He said: “It’s complicated, actually. Nothing is easy. It’s very complicated.
“We’re going to get some switched. There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both.”
The MAGA prez said he would try to return territory to Ukraine.
Don added: “Russia has occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They’ve occupied some very prime territory.
“We’re going to try and get some of that territory back for Ukraine.”
Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said that he wants peace but that his demands for ending his invasion were “unchanged”.
Slave to one’s habits
Zelensky has warned that Putin has no intention of seeking peace.
He claimed Putin would try to fool Trump and continue waging his bloody war against Ukraine.
The embattled president said: “[Putin] is definitely not preparing for a ceasefire or an end to the war.
Could Putin be arrested in Alaska?
By Patrick Harrington, Foreign news reporter
VLADIMIR Putin will jet to Alaska for a historic summit with President Trump on Friday to seek an end to the war- but he does so as a wanted international criminal.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) slapped him with an arrest warrant in 2023 over allegations of war crimes – so the “billion-dollar question” is: can Putin be cuffed in Alaska?
Putin would in theory be nabbed if he were to visit any of 125 countries around the world – including the UK, France, Germany and Canada.
But the US the is among the minority of countries which does not recognise the rule of the ICC.
It sit among the ranks of Russia, China, Pakistan and a handful of others in disregarding the framework.
This means that, unlike most nations, the US “is not bound to arrest Putin”.
So the Kremlin can be confident that their leader will be leaving the Arctic state in his own plane – and trotting the globe without any threat of repercussions.
“He is determined only to present a meeting with America as his personal victory and then continue acting exactly as before.
“The Russians simply want to buy time, not end the war.
Zelensky said that Putin was redeploying troops and forces “in ways that suggest preparations for new offensive operations.
“If someone is preparing for peace, this is not what he does.”
Igor Novikov, Zelensky’s ex-adviser, spoke to The Sun about the Putin and Trump meeting on US soil.
EPASir Keir Starmer has warned not to ‘trust’ Putin[/caption]
GettyPutin said his demands for ending his invasion were ‘unchanged’[/caption]
AFPZelensky has warned that Putin has no intention of seeking peace[/caption]
He said: “Trump understands that he needs to put enough sanction pressure and military pressure on Russia for them to consider ending this war.
“But at the same time, Putin tries to manipulate and charm him, massage his ego into a position where Russia wins time and the US moves further away from helping Ukraine.
“Whatever they decide upon. It won’t be taken for granted by the Ukrainian people.”
Why is meeting being held in Alaska?
Russia expert Colonel Hamish de-Bretton Gordon said there are a few other reasons Putin is likely chuffed with Alaska as the meeting point.
He said: “President Putin is absolutely fixated about his own security, and his desire not to wander out of friendly airspace.
“There’s not much of that to Alaska – would only be in international airspace for a few miles.”
It also means Russian power is making a return to the territory once owned by the Tsardom of Russia.
Putin’s distant predecessor Tsar Alexander II sold it to America in 1867 for $7.2 million — or two cents per acre.
And the Great State of Alaska is also a very long way away from Europe, and all the pesky diplomats who have got under Putin’s skin.
The choice of location for meetings between rival superpowers carries enormous significance.
Many times, the charged encounters have been backdropped by Washington or Moscow – as well as Geneva, Vienna and even a Soviet cruise ship.
But Alaskan officials are delighted that their icy land will for the first time host a superpower summit.
Its geographical location automatically makes it a logical option, placed as it is directly between the US and the expanse of eastern Russia.
You can even see Russian territory while standing on Alaskan soil – if you stand on the island of Little Diomede and look out to Big Diomede.
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