Former US President Donald Trump has suggested that both Ukraine and Russia may need to give up some territory as part of efforts to end the ongoing war between the two countries. Trump made these remarks as final preparations are underway for a crucial meeting between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders are scheduled to meet in Alaska on August 15. Trump stated that the main focus of the meeting would be to pave the way for a peace agreement. He also said he would use the meeting to gauge Putin’s willingness to negotiate a peace deal. “So I will talk to Vladimir Putin, and I will tell him that the war needs to end. I will tell him that he needs to decide on this,” Trump said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not been invited to participate in the Alaska meeting because Putin is unwilling to meet with him. However, Trump said that Zelenskyy would be included in a subsequent consultation meeting. Trump also mentioned that he would meet with Western leaders as soon as possible after the Alaska meeting to share information about his discussions with Putin. Trump has previously spoken about the possibility of territorial exchanges between the two countries as a means to end the war. However, analysts believe that this is unlikely to be agreeable to either Ukraine or Russia. Western countries view the cession of Ukrainian territory to Russia as a threat to their own security. “There will be some exchange of territories to some extent,” Trump said.
The Russia-Ukraine war began on February 24, 2022, after Ukraine refused to halt its efforts to join the Western defense alliance NATO. The Kremlin considers Ukraine’s NATO membership as a major threat to Russia’s security. In the course of the war, Russia has taken control of about one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. This includes large areas of Luhansk and Donetsk in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, as well as some southern territories in Zaporizhzhia. Russia has declared these areas as Russian territory. However, Ukrainian forces continue to operate in these regions. Ukrainian troops are also active in a few villages in the Kursk region in western Russia.
