United States President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday in a bid to find common ground that could lead to a ceasefire in a three-year-long war between Russia and Ukraine.
President Trump had earlier raised the notion that Indian crude oil purchases were funneling finances into Russia’s arsenal, fueling its war against Ukraine. The recent meeting between Russia and the US could be an initial step in moving towards a synergy that could very well prove to be a point of inflection in the bilateral relationship between the US and Russia -and could possibly aid India as well.
Ahead of his Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, US President Donald Trump expressed confidence that Putin is now ready to pursue peace. The summit is scheduled for August 15 at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson in Alaska. “I think President Putin will make peace and President Zelensky will make peace,” Trump told reporters.
Beyond his primary meeting with Putin, Trump outlined plans for a follow-up meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, possibly joined by European leaders; he called the session potentially more important than the first.
“We have a meeting with President Putin tomorrow. I think it’s gonna be a good meeting, but the more important meeting will be the second meeting that we’re having. We’re gonna have a meeting with President Putin, President Zelenskyy, me, and maybe we’ll bring some of the European leaders along, maybe not,” he said.
“We’re going to see what happens. And I think President Putin will make peace. I think President Zelensky will make peace. We’ll see if they can get along. And if they can, it’ll be great,” he added.
In his own quintessential manner, Trump referred to the Russia–Ukraine conflict as “Biden’s War”. He further said that it would never have happened if he were president, stressing again that such a conflict would not have occurred under his administration.
Earlier, Trump had said that he would know “in the first two minutes” whether a deal could be struck.
What’s On The Agenda
The two leaders will discuss the terms for a possible ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. On the agenda is how such a deal could work, including possible territorial concessions on either side. Trump on Monday suggested that Ukraine and Russia could swap territory in order to reach a common goal
As part of any swap deal, analysts believe that Putin will press for Ukraine to withdraw from the parts of Donetsk that its troops still control. This move would give Russia full control of the Donbas region, which includes Luhansk and Donetsk. Russia already controls almost all of Luhansk. In addition to Crimea and chunks of Kherson, Zaporizhia, and other southern regions, it would seek for Ukraine to relinquish the tiny part of Kursk in Russia that Kyiv forces occupy.
In exchange, Russia might be willing to give up the small areas in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions under its control.
Also Read: Trump-Putin Alaska Summit Sparks Global Attention Amid Rising East-West Tensions
