Former US President Donald Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, that his “highly anticipated meeting” with Russian President Vladimir Putin will occur on Friday, August 15th in Alaska. A senior White House official told CBS that summit planning “remains fluid” and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could still be “involved in some way.” While the White House stated earlier this week Trump was open to meeting both leaders, Trump told reporters yesterday he intends to “start with Russia,” though he believes there is “a chance” for a trilateral meeting involving Ukraine.
Concurrently, the UK hosts a meeting in London on Thursday afternoon involving senior officials from the US, EU, Ukraine, and several European nations, including Italy, France, Germany, and Poland. US Vice President J.D. Vance will attend. A European Commission spokesperson confirmed participation, stating the aim is to define a common position ahead of the Trump-Putin summit. Italy will be represented by Ambassador Fabrizio Saggio, diplomatic advisor to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
A European Commission spokesperson emphasized to ANSA that the EU “continues to support peace negotiations to end Russia’s war of aggression, with Ukraine at the table and able to make independent and sovereign decisions, which the EU will support,” specifically addressing the summit and potential Ukrainian territorial concessions.
Speaking with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Zelensky stressed the need for “clear steps from the Europeans” and “maximum coordination between Kyiv and its allies” before the summit. He reiterated Ukraine’s stance forcefully on Telegram: “Ukrainians defend what is theirs… We will not give Russia any reward for what it has done… The answer to the Ukrainian territorial question is already in the Constitution of Ukraine… Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier.” He added Ukraine is “ready to make concrete decisions that can lead to peace,” but warned that “any decision against us, any decision that excludes Ukraine, is simultaneously a decision against peace” and will fail. Zelensky concluded by thanking Ukrainian citizens and soldiers for preserving independence, stating, “This is our land, we are Ukraine.”
The Russian ambassador to Italy, Alexei Paramonov, claimed on Telegram that Italy lost the opportunity to host the “undoubted, historic diplomatic success” of the summit due to the “Russophobia of the ruling class,” “senseless 360-degree support for Ukraine,” and a “total refusal of dialogue.”
This marks Putin’s first visit to the US in nearly a decade, his last being in September 2015. His last meeting with a US president was with Joe Biden in Geneva in 2021, before the Ukraine invasion. Putin met Trump six times during Trump’s first term.
Kremlin advisor Yuri Ushakov told Interfax that Russia expects the *next* summit after Alaska to be held on Russian territory, stating a corresponding invitation has already been extended to Trump. Regarding the Alaska location for this first meeting, Ushakov said it was logical given Russia and the US are neighbors, allowing the Russian delegation to “simply cross the Bering Strait.”