Washington — Friday’s Alaska summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin “is a listening exercise for the president”, the White House said on Tuesday, tempering expectations for a quick Russia-Ukraine ceasefire deal.
“Only one party that’s involved in this war is going to be present, and so this is for the president to go and to get, again, a more firm and better understanding of how we can hopefully bring this war to an end,” said White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.
“This is a listening exercise for the president.”
Trump will meet one-on-one with Putin during the talks, which will take place in Anchorage, Alaska, the White House said. He may, in the future, also visit Russia.
“Perhaps there are plans in the future to travel to Russia,” said Leavitt.
Key issues remain ahead of the talks. Trump has said the two sides will need to cede land to end the bloody three-and-a-half-year-old conflict.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country’s constitution prohibited such a deal and that no arrangements could be made without Ukraine’s participation in talks.
This week, Russian forces made a sudden push into eastern Ukraine, likely to gain territory ahead of talks with Trump.
The White House declined to comment on conversations taking place before the Putin meeting between Trump and Zelensky, CNN reported on Wednesday.
The Ukrainian president said he would not pull Ukrainian troops out of the eastern Donbas region as it would deprive Kyiv of defensive lines and open the way for Moscow to conduct further offensives. He added that territorial issues should be discussed after Russia agrees to a ceasefire, and security guarantees for Ukraine should be an integral part of that discussion.
Reuters
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