Trump & Putin to meet in Alaska on Aug. 15, Zelensky's invitation unconfirmed

U.S. President Donald Trump will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Aug. 15, Trump announced via Truth Social on Aug. 8.

The announcement came on the same day as the deadline Trump had set for Putin to end the war in Ukraine or face 100 per cent tariffs, after he shortened the original 50-day deadline on Jul. 28.

A Kremlin spokesperson has also confirmed the meeting, saying that the choice of location is "quite logical" given Alaska's close proximity to Russia, BBC reported.

The long-awaited meeting comes at the invitation of The White House, and is expected to focus on ending the 41-month Russia-Ukraine war.

No other details have been announced thus far.

Trump and Putin's soured friendship

This marks the first time both presidents will meet in person since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

They had previously spoken on the phone multiple times to discuss ceasefire proposals, all of which ended in failure after Trump accused Putin of going back on his words.

Putin "talks nice but then he bombs everybody in the evening", Trump said after their last phone call on Jul. 13.

He also called the Russian president "absolutely crazy" at one point, criticising him for killing needlessly.

The relationship between both leaders has increasingly soured in recent months after Putin repeatedly rejected ceasefire proposals put forward by the U.S.

In turn, Trump has re-authorised the sending of Patriot missiles and other defensive weapons to Ukraine, arming them in their defence against Russian attacks.

Test for Putin

The upcoming meeting between both leaders will reportedly be a test for Putin, NATO chief Mark Rutte told ABC News on Aug. 10.

"Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end," he said.

Zelensky's invitation pending

Questions have swirled around whether Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will also attend the meeting, to which The White House said it has not ruled out inviting Zelensky to Alaska.

Following Trump's Aug. 8 announcement, European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, met with U.S. Vice-President JD Vance on Aug. 9 to make their case, including advocating for Ukraine's active involvement in the meeting.

"The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine," they said in a joint statement.

"International borders must not be changed by force," the leaders added, "the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations."

The European leaders individually expressed their worry about their lack of involvement in the outcome of a Trump-Putin summit.

"Europeans will also necessarily be part of the solution, as their own security is at stake," Macron said in a post on X on Aug. 9.

This comes especially after Trump previously hinted on Aug. 8 that there "will be some swapping of territories" in order for a ceasefire to come to fruition.

Zelensky has fired back at the comment, saying via Telegram, "We will not reward Russia for what it has perpetrated."

"Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace."

Trump's national Security adviser John Bolton also criticised the one-sided meeting, saying that by meeting Putin alone Trump would be allowing him "first-mover advantage", enabling Putin to make his demands first, ABC News quoted.

Not a good idea

Putin, however, has repeatedly rejected any direct meetings with the Ukrainian leader, and both leaders have not met in person since the Russian invasion in 2022.

Vance told Fox News on Aug. 10 that while the opportunity for both leaders to meet face-to-face is not lost in the future, it would not be a good idea for Putin and Zelensky to meet before the Alaska meeting on Friday.

"One of the most important logjams is that Vladimir Putin said that he would never sit down with Zelensky, the head of Ukraine, and the president has now got that to change," he said.

Should Zelensky attend Friday's meeting, it would also be the first time he has met Trump since their explosive meeting on Feb. 28 this year, which ended with the Zelensky and the Ukrainian delegates leaving the White House earlier than planned.

Back then, Trump accused Zelensky of not being "ready for peace".

Top images via President of Russia/X, The White House/Facebook & Volodymyr Zelenskyy/X