Trump to meet Putin next week in Alaska, but without Zelensky
After teasing the announcement during a White House function earlier in the afternoon, Trump posted on his Truth Social website that the 'highly anticipated meeting ' would take place in Alaska on Friday, US time.
The confirmation comes after days of speculation about a meeting between the two leaders, and confusion over whether there were preconditions for the summit to take place, such as the involvement of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky or a separate meeting between him and Putin.
Friday also marked Trump's own deadline for Putin to agree to a ceasefire and peace deal or face additional US sanctions and secondary sanctions aimed at Russian trading partners. So far, Trump has announced an extra 25 per cent tariff on Indian exports to the US as punishment for India buying Russian oil, to begin on August 27.
As the deadline loomed, Putin pushed for a meeting with Trump, and the Kremlin announced there would be a summit 'within days' – without confirmation from Washington, which had pushed for a trilateral meeting with Zelensky.
But Trump indicated on Friday it would be a bilateral meeting. 'We're going to have a meeting with Russia, we'll start off with Russia,' he told reporters in Washington. 'I'll be meeting very shortly with President Putin.'
Asked if it was the last chance for the Russian president to agree to a ceasefire and peace deal, Trump said: 'I don't like using the term 'last chance'.'
He indicated the deal under consideration involved the exchange of territory now occupied by opposing military forces, but did not go into detail.
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