Donald Trump has announced his “highly anticipated” meeting with Vladimir Putin will take place next Friday in the US state of Alaska.
The two presidents are expected to discuss the war in Ukraine with the talks potentially leading to a breakthrough in Mr Trump’s effort to end the conflict.
However there’s no guarantee it will stop the fighting since Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on their conditions for peace.
Earlier, the US president told reporters “we’re getting very close to a deal” that would end the war.
Mr Trump added there will be “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both sides”.
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The meeting between the two leaders will be the first US-Russia summit since 2021, when former US President Joe Biden met with Mr Putin in Geneva, Switzerland.
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Announcing the location and date of his meeting with the Russian president, Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska. Further details to follow. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
There has been no immediate confirmation of the time and location of the meeting from Moscow.
Earlier on Friday, Mr Trump told reporters at the White House that he couldn’t announce where or when the meeting would take place but he would do so soon.
He also suggested that his meeting with the Russian leader could come before any sit-down discussion involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“We’re going to have a meeting with Russia, start off with Russia. And we’ll announce a location. I think the location will be a very popular one,” Mr Trump said.
Mr Trump said at the White House earlier: “President Putin, I believe, wants to see peace, and Zelenskyy wants to see peace… In all fairness to President Zelenskyy, he’s getting everything he needs to, assuming we get something done.”
Territory to form part of talks
Speaking about the role that territory will play in the peace talks, Mr Trump said: “You’re looking at a territory that’s been fought over for three and a half years. A lot of Russians have died. A lot of Ukrainians have died.
“So we’re looking at that, but we’re actually looking to get some back, and some swapping.
“It’s complicated, actually. Nothing is easy. It’s very complicated. But we’re going to get some back.
“We’re going to get some switched. There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both.”
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