US President Donald Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, as Ukraine’s Zelenskyy meets with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London. The bilateral US-Russia summit will focus on the war in Ukraine and economic cooperation between Washington and Moscow.
In a social media post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed his meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying they talked about security guarantees that can make peace sustainable if the United States pressures Russia to stop the killings. Zelenskyy also emphasized the need for a “robust and credible security guarantee” to ensure lasting peace in Ukraine.
Putin said he planned to discuss negotiation processes with Ukraine and how it’s going, as well as stage discussions about the current American administration’s efforts to stop fighting and reach agreements of interest to all parties involved. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov stated that the main topic will be the war in Ukraine, but there will also be talks on economic cooperation between Washington and Moscow.
The meeting is expected to begin at around 11:30 a.m. local time and will feature a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin before their delegations join. There will also be joint press conference afterwards. The summit has been described as “hugely important” by Starmer, who expressed concerns that the bilateral US-Russia summit could leave Ukraine’s interests sidelined.
European leaders have praised Trump’s Wednesday video conference with them as constructive. However, some leaders are skeptical about any breakthroughs being achieved during Friday’s meeting, citing a lack of progress in previous meetings and negotiations promising better outcomes for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian citizens have expressed skepticism that the US-Russia summit will bring meaningful progress to an end to the war. Oleksandra Kozlova, a department head at a digital agency in Kyiv, believes Ukrainians “have already lost hope” that something can be resolved, while Anton Vyshniak, a car salesman in Kyiv, prioritized saving military servicepeople’s lives over making territorial concessions.
In other news, Russian strikes in Ukraine’s Sumy region resulted in numerous injuries overnight, and an oil refinery in the Volgograd region caught fire after a Ukrainian drone attack. Russia reported destroying 44 Ukrainian drones over its regions and annexed Crimea.
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-putin-summit-kremlin-details-zelenskyy-meets-starmer