Olusegun Ariyo
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska next week.
This has raised speculation that the summit could explore a controversial territorial swap as part of efforts to end the war in Ukraine
The Kremlin confirmed the meeting on Friday, calling the choice of venue “quite logical,” and said the two leaders would discuss “long-term peaceful settlement options” for the conflict, which has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“The highly anticipated meeting between me, 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,” Trump announced on Truth Social.
Speaking earlier at the White House, Trump hinted that “some swapping of territories” could be on the table “to the betterment of both” Ukraine and Russia, but offered no further details.
Putin, meanwhile, held calls with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the talks.
Both leaders have promoted their peace initiatives, though without tangible progress. Xi, according to China’s state news agency, expressed support for U.S.-Russia dialogue, saying improved ties could “promote a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.”
The Alaska meeting will mark the first face-to-face encounter between a sitting U.S. president and a Russian president since Joe Biden met with Putin in Geneva in 2021, and the first Trump-Putin sit-down since a 2019 G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.
Despite multiple rounds of negotiations in Istanbul and elsewhere, peace remains elusive. Russia has maintained hardline territorial demands, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insists any deal must include direct talks with him, something Putin has so far refused.
On the ground, Russian bombardments continue to devastate eastern and southern Ukraine. Donetsk governor Vadym Filashkin said Friday that families with children are being evacuated from 19 frontline villages, as fighting edges closer.
