US President Donald Trump said Friday that he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next week in Alaska to discuss ending Russia's war in Ukraine, though the Kremlin has not yet confirmed the details. The Aug. 15 meeting would mark the first US–Russia summit since 2021, when then-President Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva. It will also be Putin's eighth visit to the United States as Russia's leader and his first since meeting President Barack Obama in New York in 2015 during the UN General Assembly. Trump said the talks could represent a breakthrough in his push to end the war, though he cautioned there is no guarantee it would stop the fighting, as Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on peace terms. He added that he believes both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy want peace. "In all fairness to President Zelenskyy, he's getting everything he needs to, assuming we get something done," Trump told reporters. He said a potential peace agreement would likely involve Ukraine and Russia swapping some territories they currently control. "Nothing easy," Trump said. "But we're gonna get some back. We're gonna get some switched. There'll be some swapping of territories, to the betterment of both." Trump noted the meeting was originally planned for earlier but was pushed back to accommodate security arrangements. Putin first visited the US as president in 2000, meeting President Bill Clinton at the UN Millennium Summit in New York. — Agencies
