A meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been scheduled.
Both the office of U.S. President Donald Trump and the Russian presidential office have announced the meeting.
On Friday, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social, informing that the meeting between the two presidents will take place in Alaska on August 15.
The Kremlin, the Russian presidential office, also confirmed the meeting through an official statement, as reported by the international news agency Reuters.
The statement said, “This will undoubtedly be a challenging process, but we will actively and energetically engage in it.”
Discussions will focus on ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, which has been ongoing for over three and a half years.
Trump has also claimed that a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine is near.
During an address at the White House on Friday, Trump said that there would be some agreements on territorial issues and a ceasefire between the two countries.
Trump said, “There will be some land swaps that will benefit both sides,” but he did not provide detailed information on this matter.
Earlier, Putin had claimed Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Crimea as part of Russia’s territory. However, his forces do not have full control over all areas of these four provinces.
It is still undecided whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will participate in the meeting scheduled for August 15.
Trump had previously claimed that there would be a trilateral meeting.
On Friday evening, Zelensky said that with enough pressure on Russia, a ceasefire could be possible. He also mentioned ongoing discussions with many other world leaders and that he remains in continuous contact with the United States.
Trump has recently been attempting to improve relations with Russia and push for an end to the war. However, since Putin was not ready to agree to a ceasefire, Trump, frustrated, announced on Friday new tariffs increasing up to 100 percent and additional sanctions.
After the ultimatum given by Trump expired, he himself revealed that a direct meeting between the two presidents would take place.
The U.S. and Russian presidents have not met directly since 2021.
In June 2021, then U.S. President Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva. Eight months after that, the Russia-Ukraine war began. Putin and Zelensky have not met since 2019.
