Putin to meet Trump

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Russian President Vladimir Putin presented the Trump administration this week with a sweeping proposal for a cease-fire in Ukraine, demanding major territorial concessions by Kyiv—and a push for global recognition of its claims—in exchange for a halt to the fighting, according to European and Ukrainian officials.

President Trump said Friday he would meet with Putin in Alaska on Aug. 15, following Putin’s proposal. He didn’t provide additional information about the meeting or the exact location. The Kremlin didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

WSJ
 
Interesting venue:   Since the U.S. is not a member of the International Criminal Court, its arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin is not valid on American territory. Alaska is one of the few places where Putin can travel to, if Washington guarantees his safety. A frosty welcome, however.
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 Chickening out?
Trump had set Friday as a deadline for Putin to agree to an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, or face the new, aggressive sanctions. But Trump declined to say whether he is making good on his threat or allowing Putin a little more time now that a meeting has been agreed upon.
POLITICO
 
 
It's summer time in Alaska: relatively warm thanks to climate change. Putin's and Trump's meeting is supposed to develop a ceasefire formula for the Ukraine war. That's a useless exercise because Putin's conditions require Ukraine to commit suicide. So why meet in Anchorage? The meeting's only purpose is to save Trump's (Krasnov's) face one more time. Putin knows what everyone else knows: that Ukraine would rather continue fighting than commit suicide.
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Michael Bociurkiw writes:

Europe Warns Trump: No Ukraine Peace Deal Without Kyiv — No Land Swaps
Allies rally behind Zelensky as Trump readies Alaska meeting with Putin and floats a ceasefire plan that would let Russia keep the Donbas — a move seen as rewarding aggression.
 
Ukraine’s European allies rallied behind the war-torn country on Saturday, stressing the need to respect its national sovereignty and to include Kyiv in peace negotiations, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion of a land swap to end the conflict.

The renewed show of support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s efforts to defend his country against Moscow’s aggression comes ahead of the meeting Trump plans with Russian President Vladimir Putin set for this coming Friday in Alaska. “A diplomatic solution must protect Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests,” the leaders of the U.K., France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the European Commission said in a joint statement issued late Saturday. “The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,” they said. “We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force,” the leaders stressed.

Trump said on Friday that there will be “some swapping of territories” as part of a ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine, a proposition that was quickly rejected by Zelensky. Zelensky said Kyiv is “ready to work together with President Trump,” but any decisions made without Ukraine are “unworkable,” he added.

Trump is open to holding a trilateral summit in Alaska that would include Zelenskyy, a White House official told reporters on Saturday. But Washington is currently planning a bilateral meeting with Putin at his request, the official added.

Ukraine and its allies have no doubts “about America’s ability to ensure that the war ends,” Zelenskyy said in a separate statement Saturday. “The president of the United States has the leverage and the determination.” Under the proposal being floated by the Trump administration, the Kremlin would agree to a freeze of the war along the contact line in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where Russia controls less land than in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, a person familiar with the matter told POLITICO.

In return, Moscow would be allowed to keep the Donbas, said the person, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.

European governments scrambled on Saturday to coordinate ahead of the Trump-Putin summit set for Aug. 15. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy arranged an urgent meeting of European and Ukrainian officials in the U.K. to discuss the prospects for a ceasefire agreement, in a gathering that included U.S. Vice President JD Vance.

In their statement late Saturday, the European leaders, emphasized that “international borders must not be changed by force” and stressed that a truce needs to be in place in order to facilitate peace talks. “Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities,” the leaders said. “Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny,” they added - Politico

Russia does not plan to return occupied lands to Ukraine or make peace, the Washington Post reported. According to a person familiar with the negotiations, Russia proposed to Kyiv to give up Donbas, which includes Luhansk and Donetsk regions, in exchange for a ceasefire, but without any other proposals in return.

The Kremlin does not want to return territories in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, where Russian military gains have provided Moscow with a valuable land bridge to occupied Crimea, the source said - Ukrainska Pravda

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said Europe lost significant time trying to appease Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump “by calling him ‘Daddy’ and what not.” He told Channel 4 News in the UK: “We did not prepare and now we are scrambling to figure out what needs to happen before the Friday summit. Well, the only thing that needs to happen is that Europe stands with Ukraine.” He questioned whether Europe had a Plan B ready in the case the U.S. and Europe diverge.

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