The White House said that Donald Trump will be treating Friday’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a ‘listening exercise’.
Officials yesterday confirmed that the high-stakes talks will take place in Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage, with the US President ‘determined to try to end this war [in Ukraine] and stop the killing’.
It came as Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky – who is excluded from the meeting – warned that Russia was ‘readying for a new offensive’ rather than preparing to end the war.
Speaking at a White House briefing, US press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: ‘This is a listening exercise for the President. Only one party that’s involved in this war is going to be present, so this is for the President to go and get a more firm understanding of how we can hopefully bring this war to an end.’
She appeared to temper expectations, adding: ‘The President wants a peace deal, he wants to see this war come to an end. But this bilateral meeting is a bilateral meeting between one party in a two-party war – you need both countries to agree to a deal.’
Ms Leavitt also suggested that Mr Trump could soon visit Putin in Moscow, saying ‘perhaps there are plans’.
Her comments followed a deeply troubling press conference on Monday where Mr Trump heaped praise on Putin and appeared to blame Mr Zelensky for the war.
Last night Mr Zelensky cited a report from his intelligence and military command, claiming that Moscow was redeploying troops and forces ‘in ways that suggest preparations for new offensive operations’.
The high-stakes talks between Donald Trump and the Russian President will take place in Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage
Donald Trump could soon visit Vladimir Putin in Moscow, according to US press secretary Karoline Leavitt
Donald Trump shakes hands with Vladimir Putin during a news conference in 2018
Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was ‘readying for a new offensive’ rather than preparing to end the war
Kyiv was forced to divert special forces units to confront Russian saboteurs who reportedly slipped up to six miles behind Ukrainian lines near Dobropillya in Donetsk.
If Moscow is able to establish a foothold they may be able to cut off the vital city of Kramatorsk, which would effectively give Putin almost full control over the Donbas region.
The territory seized is also within striking distance of Slovyansk, Druzhkivka and Kostyantynivka – the so-called ‘fortress belt’ that has anchored Ukraine’s Donetsk defences since 2014.
Yesterday every EU leader – apart from Hungary’s Viktor Orban, a Putin ally – signed a statement appealing to Mr Trump not to exclude Kyiv from talks about its future.
The White House has confirmed that Mr Trump will hold a virtual meeting today with Mr Zelensky and European allies ahead of Friday’s summit.