Hegseth says Putin agreed to meet Trump due to mounting pressure

According to him, no one had previously been able to create the conditions for Putin to meet with any world leader. In particular, he believes that Putin never took former US President Joe Biden seriously.

That is why, Hegseth said, Trump has already managed to change the circumstances and "the game rules."

"President Trump has reshaped the battlefield and created real pressure on Putin, so much so that a meeting became possible. Without that pressure, I don’t believe Putin would have agreed. Now there’s a real chance," Hegseth stated.

At the same time, he noted that the talks could involve territorial concessions.

"Look, any agreement might involve tough decisions like territory swaps. It won’t please everyone, but if anyone can get it done, it’s President Trump,” the Pentagon chief said.

When asked if he would be in Alaska during the Trump–Putin meeting, Hegseth replied: "I don’t know. We’ll see what my calendar looks like. Maybe."

Territory swap idea

Recently, US President Donald Trump said he would meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15.

The Kremlin confirmed this information. Putin’s aide, Yuri Ushakov, stated that the US and Russia are "close neighbors," so it was decided to hold the meeting between the two leaders in Alaska.

Earlier, Trump suggested that ending Russia’s war against Ukraine might involve a "territory swap."

According to him, the US would try to return to Ukraine the territory currently occupied by Russian troops.

In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reminded that territorial issues are enshrined in the Constitution, and Ukraine will not give up its land to Russia. He also emphasized that Russia is promoting such a "swap" without offering any guarantees.