President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Friday, August 15, for the first in-person meeting between U.S. and Russian leaders since Moscow’s deadly 2022 invasion of Ukraine, according to Fox News.
The summit will take place in Alaska, Trump announced on Truth Social. The location had been a central question since the idea emerged following a Wednesday call between Trump and Putin, after White House envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Moscow to meet with the Kremlin chief.
Other venues considered included Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, and the UAE, with Putin originally favoring Hungary. He reportedly rejected Italy over Rome’s perceived closeness with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Following the Trump-Putin call, the U.S. president also spoke with Zelenskyy and European leaders about the possibility of a trilateral meeting. But Moscow — which has so far refused to hold direct talks between Putin and Zelenskyy — appears unlikely to do so soon.
The Kremlin’s foreign policy advisor said such a meeting was “mentioned” but “not discussed.” Later reporting suggested Putin might be open to meeting Zelenskyy face-to-face if certain “conditions” are met.
Those conditions are unclear, but Putin has allegedly suggested Ukraine must formally cede Donetsk and Luhansk, regions Russia illegally annexed in 2022 but does not fully control.
Zelenskyy has countered such demands, noting that under Ukraine’s Constitution, a national referendum would be required for any territorial concessions.
Despite these hurdles, Trump told reporters Wednesday there’s “a very good prospect that [Putin and Zelenskyy] will” meet.
Zelenskyy confirmed that at least one bilateral meeting between the U.S. and Russian leaders had been proposed, possibly followed by a three-way session with Trump, Putin, and Zelenskyy.
It is still unclear what Trump hopes to achieve in person with Putin after months of attempted ceasefire talks and expressions of frustration with the Kremlin leader.
When asked about the likelihood of a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv, Trump declined to give odds, saying only, “I’ve been disappointed before with this one.”
Ask ChatGPT
