Trump describes meeting with Russia as ‘constructive'
Trump, though, has expressed growing frustration with Russia's attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine and today slapped tariffs on their biggest oil customer, India.
Although he described today's meeting as 'constructive', Trump has yet to confirm whether or not he'll go ahead with imposing sanctions on Russia this Friday as he's threatened to if a peace deal isn't agreed.
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Daily Mirror
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Donald Trump 'considering' inviting Zelenskyy to peace summit meeting, sources say
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are set to meet for a summit in Alaska next Friday to discuss the war in Ukraine - but it has not yet been officially confirmed if Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be invited Donald Trump is reportedly "considering" inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the summit meeting with Vladimr Putin in Alaska next Friday. Trump and Putin are set to meet to discuss the war in Ukraine and an invitation for the Ukrainian leader is 'being discussed,' according to NBC News, citing three people briefed on internal conversations about the meeting. A senior U.S. official reportedly told NBC News that Zelensky's attendance is 'absolutely' possible, but it is believed that no official invite has been talked about with Kyiv as of yet. It comes after NATO scrambled warplanes as Russia shoots down West's F-16 fighter jet in Ukraine onslaught. When quizzed over an official invite, a senior White House official told NBC: 'The President remains open to a trilateral summit with both leaders. Right now, the White House is focusing on planning the bilateral meeting requested by President Putin.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has cast doubt over the upcoming summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, cautioning that any peace agreement which sidelines Kyiv is doomed to fail. The meeting, set for Friday in Alaska, is being seen as a potentially pivotal moment. Zelenskyy, who voiced his concerns via a Telegram post on Saturday, warned that shutting Ukraine out of peace talks would only result in "dead solutions." Zelenskyy's remarks highlight fears that direct dialogue between Trump and Putin could undermine both Kyiv's and Europe's interests, emphasising that "Any solutions that are without Ukraine, are at the same time, solutions against peace. They will not bring anything. These are dead solutions, they will never work." This meeting could be a turning point in a conflict that started over three years ago when Russia invaded its western neighbour, leading to tens of thousands of casualties. However, there is no guarantee it will end the violence as Moscow and Kyiv are still at odds over their peace terms. In a joint statement last night, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the leaders of France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the European Commission said Ukraine's future cannot be decided without Kyiv. It said: "Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny. Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities. "The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine. We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force. The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations."
Daily Mail
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump envoy 'misunderstood' Putin's demands for ending Ukraine war, insiders say - as president mulls inviting Zelensky to Alaska summit
Steve Witkoff, US special envoy to the Middle East, may have misinterpreted Vladimir Putin 's terms for ending Russia 's war in Ukraine as he worked to set up a face-to-face with President Trump, per a new report. On Wednesday, Witkoff spoke with the Russian president at the Kremlin for about three hours, after which Trump praised his negotiator for making 'great progress'. However, a report from BILD, a German outlet, suggested that Witkoff was under the impression that when Putin demanded a 'peaceful withdrawal' from Kherson and Zaporizhia, he meant that he wanted Russian soldiers to withdraw. But according to insiders, Putin actually meant he wanted Ukrainian forces to give up these tactically-important cities. 'Witkoff doesn't know what he's talking about,' a Ukrainian official told BILD. Russia reportedly still isn't budging on its demand to control the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, Kherson and Crimea. This comes as Trump officially set Friday, August 15, as the day he and Putin will meet in Alaska to discuss a negotiated settlement to the war, which has stretched on for over three-and-a-half years. 'It's complicated, nothing easy,' Trump told reporters ahead of the announcement. 'It's very complicated but we're going to get some back and we're going to get some switched.' On the day Trump confirmed he and Putin would be meeting, two people were killed in a Russian strike on a civilian bus in Kherson and two others were killed in a Russian FPV drone strike on a car. Once news of Trump-Putin summit emerged, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that 'decisions without Ukraine' would not bring peace to the region. Writing on social media, the Ukrainian President said: 'Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace. They will achieve nothing. 'Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.' He said Ukraine was 'ready for real decisions that can bring peace' but said it should be a 'dignified peace', without giving details. Following Zelensky's comments, it has now come out that the White House is considering inviting him to Alaska. A senior US official told NBC News that an invite to Zelensky is 'being discussed'. His presence hasn't been finalized, but the prospect of him showing up is 'absolutely' possible, the official said. 'The President remains open to a trilateral summit with both leaders. Right now, the White House is focusing on planning the bilateral meeting requested by President Putin, the White House said in a statement to NBC. Trump has long wanted to end the war in Ukraine, often promising on the campaign trail last year that he would end the conflict on day one of his presidency if he were elected. Trump's frustration with Putin has grown as the fighting has worn on months into his second term. In late July, he began to turn the heat up on Russia, saying he was giving the country 10 or 12 days to restart peace talks with Ukraine. If that wasn't met, he said he was prepared to hit Russia with economic sanctions. Originally, Trump gave Putin a 50-day deadline and threatened to bring stiff economic penalties on Russia if it did not end hostilities with Ukraine. That would've meant a target date of early September for Putin to make a decision.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Alaska summit: Europe allies urge Trump not to deal with Putin 'without Ukraine'
European allies have rallied behind Ukraine in a renewed surge of support, insisting that any peace talks with Russia must include comes as Donald Trump prepares to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday."The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine," said a joint statement issued by the leaders of the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the European that Ukraine will not be invited to its own peace talks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that any agreements without Kyiv would amount to "dead decisions". Late on Saturday, a White House official said that Trump would be willing to hold a trilateral meeting with both Putin and Zelensky - but for now, it remains just the two of them, as initially requested by the Russian has previously suggested that he could start by meeting only with Putin, telling reporters he planned to "start off with Russia." But the US president also said that he believed "we have a shot at" organising a trilateral meeting with both Putin and Putin would agree to this is unclear - the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have not met face-to-face since Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years on Friday, Trump also suggested that there "will be some swapping of territories" in order for Moscow and Kyiv to reach an agreement - to which Zelensky reacted strongly."We will not reward Russia for what it has perpetrated," he said on Telegram. "Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace.""The Russians... still impose the idea of 'exchanging' Ukrainian territory for Ukrainian territory, with consequences that guarantee nothing but more convenient positions for the Russians to resume the war," he added the BBC's US media partner, has reported that the White House is trying to sway European allies to accept an agreement that would include Russia taking the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, and keeping the Crimean and European powers, on the other hand, presented their own blueprint for ending the war to Trump and his top officials, the Wall Street Journal has reported. It includes demands that any territory can be exchanged only in a reciprocal manner - so if Ukraine pulls out of some regions, Russia must withdraw from European leaders, in their statement released late on Saturday night, stressed that "international borders must not be changed by force". 'Not without Ukraine' "Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny," they said, stressing that their nations would continue to support Ukraine diplomatically, militarily and leaders also said that a "diplomatic solution" is critical, not just to protect Ukraine - but also Europe's not just Ukraine that is struggling to be part of the Alaska allies are also worried about their lack of influence over the outcome of any agreement that Trump could reach with Putin. In a post on X on Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron raised concerns about Russia and the US excluding European involvement."Europeans will also necessarily be part of the solution, as their own security is at stake," he has taken a tough approach to Moscow - including imposing sanctions against Russian entities and providing military aid for said he told Macron in a phone call on Saturday that the key was to make sure "the Russians do not get to deceive anyone again"."We all need a genuine end to the war and reliable security foundations for Ukraine and other European nations," the Ukrainian leader diplomacy with Europe and Ukraine fell to Vice-President JD Vance on Saturday, when visited the UK and held talks with Foreign Secretary David Lammy as well as two of Zelensky's top Vance for the discussions, Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelensky's office, stressed the need for Ukraine to be included."A reliable, lasting peace is only possible with Ukraine at the negotiating table," he said. "A ceasefire is necessary - but the frontline is not a border."The summit in Alaska, the territory which Russia sold to the US in 1867, would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents, since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021. Nine months later, Moscow sent troops into 2022, the Kremlin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions - Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson - despite not having full control over has failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough in its full-scale invasion, but occupies large swathes of Ukraine's eastern territory. Ukrainian offensives, meanwhile, have not been able to push the Russian forces back.
