 "Will Volodymyr Zelenskyy find place at Trump-Putin’s meeting in Alaska?")
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Alaska.
The two men will discuss a possible ceasefire in Ukraine. This will be the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries since 2021 when Putin met former US President Joe Biden in Geneva.
Putin and Trump previously met in July 2018 in Helenski – a meeting that was widely viewed as a disaster for the first Trump administration.
Now, there are reports that Trump is considering inviting be Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the summit.
“The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska,” Trump wrote on Truth social last week.
But what do we know? Will Zelenskyy find a place at the Trump-Putin meeting?
Let’s take a closer look:
What do we know?
T rump and Putin are set to meet in Alaska on Friday . Trump on the campaign trail had vowed to end the Ukraine Russia war “within 24 hours of taking office”.
Trump in recent months has grown more and more frustrated with Putin over the Ukraine war. This comes after T rump for years praised Putin as a great leader and extremely tough – often comparing American leaders unfavourably to the Russian strongman.
Three people in the know have said that an invite to Zelenskyy is currently being discussed. A senior US official has said that Zelenskyy’s presence is possible but that nothing had been finalised. “Its being discussed,” an official said. “Everyone is very hopeful that would happen,” the official added.
A senior White House official told NBC, “The President remains open to a trilateral summit with both leaders. Right now, the White House is focusing on planning the bilateral meeting requested by President Putin.”
Trump claimed peace in Ukraine could be achieved by ‘swapping some territories’. “We’re going to get some back, and we’re going to get some switched,” Trump said Friday at the White House. “There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both.”
The development comes after Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow last week. That came ahead of the deadline Trump had set for Putin to accept ceasefire or face new sanctions. Putin is set to step foot on American soil despite a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him.
Putin has insisted that Ukraine needs to recognise Russian sovereignty over Crimea, which it invaded during Barack Obama’s presidency , and the Eastern Donbas.
He has also insisted that Ukraine hold elections and give up any ambitions of becoming a member of Nato. Russia made a similar demand during talks last June.
The Kremlin has also demanded that sanctions be lifted, protection for Russian speakers in Ukraine, and a resolution to unfreeze the $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets that are currently being held in Europe. The funds were frozen after the US and other countries banned transactions with Russia’s central bank after the country invaded Ukraine in 2022.
The White House initially said that Zelenskyy being there was a precondition to Putin meeting with Trump. However, Trump himself later denied this. Trump has reportedly been invited to Russia for a follow up meeting.
Experts have also slammed Trump for agreeing to meet Putin in Alaska.
“This is not quite as bad as Trump inviting the Taliban to Camp David to talk about the peace negotiations in Afghanistan, but it certainly reminds one of that, ex-Trump National security advisor John Bolton told CNN.
“The only better place for Putin than Alaska would be if the summit were being held in Moscow. So, the initial setup, I think, is a great victory for Putin,” Bolton added.
Russia sold Alaska to the US in 1867 for $7.2 million.
Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she is “wary of Putin and his regime. “I hope these discussions lead to genuine progress and help end the war on equitable terms,” she wrote on X.
What is Zelenskyy saying?
Zelenskyy for his part has insisted that there can be no peace in Ukraine without Kyiv’s input.
“Any decisions that are without Ukraine are at the same time decisions against peace. They will not bring anything. These are dead decisions. They will never work,” Zelensky said.
He has rejected any talk of Ukraine handing over its territory.
“The answer to Ukraine’s territorial question is already in the constitution of Ukraine,” he said in a Saturday video statement on Telegram. “Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier.”
Zelenskyy has reached out to several European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
European leaders on Saturday released a statement insisting that Ukraine needs to be part of any peace process.
“We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force,” the statement said. “The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.”
“The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine”, the statement added. They also hailed “President Trump’s work to stop the killing in Ukraine, end the Russian Federation’s war of aggression, and achieve just and lasting peace and security for Ukraine.”
The development came after European led leaders met Vice President JD Vance on Saturday. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Sunday said European leaders “hope and assume” Zelensky will be involved in the meet. “We cannot accept that territorial issues between Russia and America are discussed or even decided over the heads of Europeans and Ukrainians,” Merz said.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine “values and fully supports” the European leaders’ statement.
“The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people today for the sake of peace in Ukraine, which is defending the vital security interests of our European nations,” he wrote on X on Sunday.
Zelenskyy earlier in the year had a disastrous meeting in the Oval Office with Trump and Vance. Trump seemingly ambushed Zelenskyy in front of the press claiming “he had no cards” while Vance accused the Ukrainian president of being ungrateful for US assistance.
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