High-stakes Trump-Putin summit on Ukraine war in Alaska on Friday

The stage is set for the highly anticipated summit meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the US Joint Military Base on Friday, August 15.

The two global leaders are meeting to discuss ways to end the Russia-Ukraine war even as the outcome of the summit is difficult to predict due to conflicting interests of Moscow and Kyiv.

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Ahead of the meeting, Russia has reiterated that its stance on ending the war in Ukraine has not changed.

Russia’s position remains unchanged, and it was voiced in this very hall just over a year ago, on June 14, 2024,” Russian Foreign Ministry’s deputy spokesperson, Alexei Fadee told reporters on Wednesday.

Last year, Putin had set out his conditions to end the war – withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and abandonment of Ukraine’s NATO ambitions.

Russia currently controls around 20 per cent of Ukrainian territories and Putin wants Ukraine to recognise Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk as part of the Russian Federation.

US President Trump is also said to be open to the idea of a “land-for-peace deal”.

However, Ukraine has said that it will not agree to ceding its territories to Russia and will never recognise Russian occupation of its land.

“Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky said hours after Trump announced his summit with Putin.

The outcome of meeting between Trump and Putin also holds significance for India as the US President has accused New Delhi of financing Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Trump imposed an additional 25 per cent tariffs on India, saying New Delhi was helping Russia in the war by purchasing its oil.

If the two leaders agree to ending war in Ukraine, the US might remove that additional 25 per cent tariffs on Indian imports to the US.