Trump and Putin to meet on Aug 15 in Alaska

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on Aug 8 that he would meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Aug 15 in Alaska, and suggested that an eventual deal between Moscow and Kyiv to end the war in Ukraine could involve swopping territory.

The Kremlin later confirmed the summit, calling the location “quite logical”.

“The presidents themselves will undoubtedly focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said in a statement posted on Telegram.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed since

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine

in February 2022, with millions forced to flee their homes.

Mr Putin held consultations on Aug 8 with the leaders of China and India ahead of the summit with Mr Trump, who has spent his first months in office trying to broker peace in Ukraine without making a breakthrough.

“The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska,” Mr Trump said on his Truth Social site.

He said earlier at the White House that “there’ll be some swopping of territories to the betterment of both” Ukraine and Russia, without providing further details.

Trump invited to Russia

Three rounds of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have failed to bear fruit, and it remains unclear whether a summit would bring peace any closer.

Russian bombardments have forced millions of people to flee their homes and have destroyed swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine.

Mr Putin has resisted multiple calls from the US, Europe and Kyiv for a ceasefire.

He has also ruled out holding talks with Mr Volodymyr Zelensky at this stage, a meeting the Ukrainian President says is necessary to make headway on a deal.

At talks in Istanbul in July, Russian negotiators outlined hardline territorial demands for halting its advance – calling for Kyiv to withdraw from some territory it controls and to renounce Western military support.

The Alaska summit would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Mr Joe Biden met Mr Putin in Geneva in June 2021.

Mr Trump and Mr Putin last sat together in 2019 at a Group of 20 summit meeting in Japan during Mr Trump’s first term. They have spoken by telephone several times since January.

The Kremlin’s Mr Ushakov said that Mr Trump had been invited to visit Russia.

“Looking ahead, it is natural to hope that the next meeting between the presidents will be held on Russian territory. A corresponding invitation has already been sent to the US President,” Mr Ushakov said.

Witkoff visit

The Kremlin said on Aug 8 that Mr Putin had updated Chinese President Xi Jinping on “the main results of his conversation” with US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who visited Moscow earlier this week.

Mr Xi expressed support for a “long-term” solution to the conflict, the Kremlin said.

China’s Xinhua state news agency quoted Mr Xi as having told Mr Putin: “China is glad to see Russia and the United States maintain contact, improve their relations, and promote a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.”

Moscow and Beijing have deepened political, economic and military ties since the start of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.

Mr Putin also spoke by phone to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after both countries condemned new US tariffs over New Delhi’s oil purchases from Russia.

Mr Xi and Mr Modi have both tried to tout their own peace initiatives for Ukraine, though they have gained little traction.

Mr Putin, a former KGB agent who has ruled Russia for more than 25 years, said in June that he was ready to meet Mr Zelensky, but only during a “final phase” of negotiations on ending the conflict.

In his regular evening address on Aug 7, Mr Zelensky said “it is only fair that Ukraine should be a participant in the negotiations”.

Donetsk governor Vadym Filashkin said on Aug 8 that families with children would be evacuated from 19 more villages in the region’s east, where Russian forces have been advancing.

The villages, home to hundreds of people, are all within about 30km of the front line. AFP