On Friday, US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska. This will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders in six years. Trump’s main goal is to reach an agreement to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The meeting will be held at a US military base and will last only a few hours. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not been invited to the talks and believes that any decisions made without Ukraine’s participation will be “meaningless.” Putin, meanwhile, has not changed his position: Russia demands full control over Donbas, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, as well as Ukraine’s refusal to join NATO.
Last week, Trump threatened to impose additional sanctions on Russia by setting a deadline for a ceasefire, but after the meeting was announced, that deadline was effectively extended. This gave both sides a chance to review their strategies.
Trump, on the one hand, is threatening tough measures, while on the other hand, he allows for the possibility of holding the talks as a “listening” session. European countries and Ukraine have little hope for this meeting, but the outcome remains unknown.
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