The meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is preliminarily scheduled for the end of next week, according to the NBC News and Fox News stations a high -ranking White House representative. According to him, the meeting place is still the subject of discussions, mentioning the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Hungary and Italian Rome. The source of TASS has previously said that the metropolis of Italy is out of the question, TASR writes.
The US and Russia agreed this week to organize a meeting at the level of presidents of both countries in the coming days. Moscow announced a fundamental agreement on Thursday after Wednesday’s meeting of special ambassador Steve Witkoff with Putin in the Kremlin. Trump then announced that he was likely to meet Putin soon.
Place of meeting unknown
The place or time of the eventual meeting has not yet been published. An unnamed source informed of its planning indicated that it could take place at the end of next week in Hungary, Switzerland, Emirates or Rome. According to the source of the Russian agency Europe, it is not a good place for such a meeting. White House representative also said that details or logistics are still unclear and very unstable. It is also unclear whether the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj will participate in the summit.
Bloomberg reported on Thursday that American and Russian officials are trying to reach an agreement to stop the fighting in Ukraine, which will allow Moscow to maintain Ukrainian territories occupied during the invasion.
Russia’s requirements
According to Bloomberg, Putin demands control of the Ukrainian Donbas and the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014. She wants to keep control of the occupied parts of the Cherson and Zaporoza region. In exchange, the Russian offensive would stop in these regions along the current front line. According to Bloomberg, getting Donbas would require Ukraine to withdraw troops from those parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk region, which Moscow has not yet managed.
According to Reuters, the White House has described the Bloomberg report as speculation. Neither the Kremlin spokesman nor Kiev did not comment on the report immediately.
Sanctions and ultimatum
A source from the White House, according to Sky News, said the Russians have provided a list of requirements for a possible ceasefire in Ukraine, and Washington is now trying to obtain the approval of Ukrainians and European allies. Ukrainians have long claimed that they will not give up territories that Russia illegally annexed.
At the beginning of last week, the US President reiterated that he was dissatisfied with Putin, who, according to him, wants the war in Ukraine to continue. He shortened his 50-day period, which he gave him to end the war. The deadline will expire on Friday 8 August. In the event of its non-compliance, the United States, according to Trump, will impose 100 % duties on Moscow’s business partners. However, as Reuters noted, in view of the expected leaders’ summit, it is not clear whether the sanctions will come into force or will be postponed or canceled.
