Ukraine Watches Closely As Trump, Putin Meet In Alaska; Any Deal To Include Zelenskyy, Says US
Ukraine and its European allies fear a one-on-one meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on the fate of the conflict could be a recipe for disaster.
Ukraine and its European allies will have their sights set on Anchorage, Alaska when US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet to discuss the fate of the war that has stretched for over three and a half years.
Trump raised some concerns when on Thursday he acknowledged that his high-stakes summit with Putin may not succeed, stressing that any deal on Ukraine would involve a future three-way meeting with Kyiv to 'divvy things up."
The Republican said the Anchorage summit was merely a prelude to a second, three-way meeting where the substantive dealmaking over the Ukraine war would happen.
'This meeting sets up the second meeting. The second meeting is going to be very, very important, because that's going to be a meeting where they make a deal," Trump told Fox News Radio.
'And I don't want to use the word 'divvy' things up. But you know, to a certain extent, it's not a bad term, okay?"
Putin flies to Alaska on Friday at the US President's invitation who insisted no deal would be finalized without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy has rejected any territorial concessions to Russia, which has intensified attacks and made battlefield gains ahead of the Alaska talks. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said any future deal must guarantee Ukraine's security, adding that he was 'hopeful" about the summit.
Putin's Nobel Play
When asked if Donald Trump should win a Nobel Peace Prize as the President makes dubious claims of ending major global conflicts, Putin said: 'The US administration… is making quite energetic and sincere efforts to end the fighting".
The talks are set to begin at 11:30 am (1930 GMT) Friday at the Elmendorf Air Force Base, a major US military installation in Alaska that has been crucial in monitoring Russia.
'This conversation will take place in a one-on-one format, naturally with the participation of interpreters," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow.
He said that delegations would continue discussions over a working lunch and that Putin and Trump would hold a joint news conference.
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August 14, 2025, 22:28 IST
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