The date of a likely meeting between Zelensky, Trump and Putin has become known
Trump expects to hold a meeting as soon as possible.
US President Donald Trump has announced a trilateral summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian leader Vladimir Putin as early as next week after the meeting in Alaska. This is reported by Axios with reference to two sources familiar with the situation.
According to the interlocutors of the publication, during a telephone conversation with Zelensky and partners, Trump stressed the intention to hold a meeting "as soon as possible" and proposed the date - 22 August. At the same time, the Russian leader did not publicly confirm his participation in this trilateral meeting. On 12 August, before the summit in Alaska, the Ukrainian president said that negotiations in this format would take place, but he did not know the exact date at that time.
In addition, Axios sources confirmed that Trump invited European leaders to join the meeting with Zelensky, which is scheduled to take place in the US on 18 August.
The backstory:
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin held a meeting on 15 August in Alaska, in the city of Anchorage, at the Elmendorf-Richardson base owned by the US military.
The talks were held behind closed doors in a three-on-three format with close advisers and lasted about three hours. Both leaders called the dialogue "constructive," but did not publicly announce specific outcomes. Trump said he rated the meeting with Putin a "10 out of 10" and would refrain from imposing additional sanctions or other serious measures against Russia for the time being.
The US president added that during the talks with Putin, an understanding was reached that the end of the war in Ukraine could include the exchange of territories and the provision of certain security guarantees by the US. At the same time, Trump emphasised that the responsibility for signing the ceasefire agreement lies with the Ukrainian president.