US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska next Fridayto discuss the future of the war in Ukraine.
Trump announced the 15 August 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, the BBC’s US partner 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 which Russia partially occupies in south-east Ukraine, and to demobilise 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.
Last month, Trump admitted to the BBC that he had thought a deal to end the war in Ukraine was on the cards with Russia four different times: “I’m disappointed in him [Putin], but I’m not done with him.”
He has hardened his stance against the Kremlin in recent weeks, imposing a deadline of Friday 8 August for Russia to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face more sweeping sanctions.
But as the deadline approached the economic threat was quickly overshadowed by plans for Trump and Putin to meet in person to discuss a potential peace deal.
There was no announcement of further sanctions on Russia from the White House on Friday.
Trump and Putin spoke by phone in February in the first direct exchange between the leaders since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The last time a US president met Putin was in 2021, when Joe Biden met him at a summit in Geneva, Switzerland
