 "U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin talk during the family photo session at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam November 11, 2017. Reuters")
Some nations will attempt “titanic efforts” to thwart the August 15 meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, according to Russia’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev on Saturday.
Trump has previously stated that a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine was imminent, which might end the three-and-a-half-year conflict. Although the terms of the agreement are yet unknown, several European countries are against Ukraine giving up a sizable portion of its land. Dmitriev charged that unidentified nations were trying to prolong the conflict.
“Undoubtedly, a number of countries interested in continuing the conflict will make titanic efforts to disrupt the planned meeting between President Putin and President Trump,” he said in a post in his Telegram account, specifying that by efforts he meant “provocations and disinformation”.
Dmitriev did not specify which countries he was referring to or what kind of “provocations” they might undertake.
The Kremlin earlier confirmed the summit. The two leaders will “focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful resolution to the Ukrainian crisis,” Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said, adding: “This will evidently be a challenging process, but we will engage in it actively and energetically.”
Trump on Friday said he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 in Alaska.
Speaking to reporters at the White House after announcing a framework aimed at ending decades of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Trump had refused to say exactly when or where he would meet with Putin, but that he planned to announce a location soon.
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More ShortsHe also suggested that his meeting with the Russian leader could come before any sit-down discussion involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Prior to his announcing the meeting with Putin, Trump’s efforts to pressure Russia into stopping the fighting have so far delivered no progress. The Kremlin’s bigger army is slowly advancing deeper into Ukraine at great cost in troops and armour while it relentlessly bombards Ukrainian cities. Russia and Ukraine are far apart on their terms for peace.
Ukrainian troops say they are ready to keep fighting. Ukrainian forces are locked in intense battles along the 1,000-kilometre front line that snakes from northeast to southeast Ukraine. The Pokrovsk area of the eastern Donetsk region is taking the brunt of punishment as Russia seeks to break out into the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukraine has significant manpower shortages.
Intense fighting is also taking place in Ukraine’s northern Sumy border region, where Ukrainian forces are engaging Russian soldiers to prevent reinforcements being sent from there to Donetsk.