Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump will meet on August 15 at the Joint Military Base Elmendorf — Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, reported CNN, citing two sources in the White House.
Although the White House hoped to avoid a situation where Putin and his subordinates would be on the territory of an American military facility, only the military base on the northern outskirts of the city could meet the security requirements for the meeting.
On the eve of the meeting, Trump stated that he regards this meeting as a «trial», without any preliminary expectations regarding its further development. As Secretary of State Marco Rubio reported, Trump needs to meet in person, hear Putin, and «assess the situation by looking at him».
Today, Trump will hold a video conference with European leaders and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, writes Reuters. Then there will be an online meeting of Trump with European leaders without Zelensky, and after that — an online conference of a group of countries working on a support plan for Ukraine in case of a ceasefire.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky flew to Germany, where he will participate in a video conference with US President Donald Trump. The President of Ukraine will hold the online meeting jointly with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Five senior EU officials told the agency that they see a risk of a deal that would be «unfavorable for Europe and Ukraine's security». A source familiar with internal discussions in the US reported that the possibility cannot be ruled out that Trump will seek to make a deal directly with Putin without the involvement of Ukraine or Europe.
Meanwhile, as writes the Financial Times, experts fear that Trump is insufficiently prepared for the meeting. In his second term, the president removed most professional diplomats and analysts from work, and key positions related to Russia and Ukraine remain vacant.
At the same time, many former advisors consider the meeting in Alaska an exclusive success for the Kremlin. This opinion was expressed by Trump's former national security advisor John Bolton on the ABC program. «I think Trump has already made several mistakes: firstly, he scheduled this meeting on American soil, legitimizing the leader of a rogue state. Secondly, he allowed Putin to gain an advantage by being the first to put his peace plan on the table», — said Bolton.
Photo: AFP