Kremlin finally says when Putin and Trump will meet
Photo: US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin (collage by RBC-Ukraine)
The Kremlin has announced the time of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, as well as the composition of its delegation for negotiations in Alaska.
According to Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov, the meeting between Putin and Trump will begin on August 15 at 11:30 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. in Kyiv).
Ushakov specified that the talks will start with a one-on-one conversation in the presence of interpreters, followed by a meeting with delegations.
The Russian delegation for the Trump-Putin talks will include:
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
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Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov
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Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov
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Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov
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Head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Kirill Dmitriev, who participated in US–Russia talks earlier this year
What Trump and Putin will discuss
On the eve of the Anchorage summit, Trump held a video conference with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders.
The US president said the main goal of the talks with Putin is to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine. He stressed that no decisions on Ukrainian territory will be made without Kyiv's participation.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated that Trump will demand that the Russian president stop the fighting.
The American leader also emphasized that any negotiations on territorial issues will only take place with Zelenskyy present at a follow-up meeting.
Trump expects that, if the talks are productive, a trilateral meeting with both Putin and Zelenskyy could be held by the end of the week.
According to RBC-Ukraine sources, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to meet with Vladimir Putin in any format.
At the same time, the US president warned that if Putin refuses to agree to a ceasefire, the consequences for Russia will be "very severe."
Zelenskyy said that during yesterday's video conference with Trump and European leaders, five key principles were agreed upon — from security guarantees to tougher sanctions if Moscow refuses a ceasefire.
According to Politico, Trump is ready to offer Ukraine security guarantees if a ceasefire is reached — but only on the condition that these efforts are not carried out within NATO.
More about the upcoming Trump–Putin meeting in Alaska and what preceded it can be found in an RBC-Ukraine report.
