Trump Pushes for Putin-Zelensky Summit

Following a "productive" meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, U.S. President Donald Trump is now aiming to organize a trilateral summit with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as early as August 22. The push for this high-stakes meeting comes as Trump shifts his focus from a simple ceasefire to brokering a final peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Zelensky is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House on Monday to discuss the proposal and the path toward ending the conflict. After his talks with Putin, Trump briefed Zelensky and several European leaders, including the heads of the UK, France, Germany, and NATO, on the discussions.

The proposed peace plan has generated significant controversy. Reports indicate that the terms discussed between Trump and Putin would involve Ukraine ceding the remainder of the Donbas region (Donetsk and Luhansk) to Russia and freezing the current front lines in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. In return, Russia would offer a ceasefire in the rest of Ukraine along with security guarantees.

This proposal of trading land for peace has met with resistance. President Zelensky has so far rejected any territorial concessions, citing the Ukrainian constitution, though he has not ruled out discussing the issue in a trilateral format. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has not yet publicly committed to participating in the proposed three-way summit.

The international community is watching closely as President Trump doubles down on his diplomatic efforts. After his one-on-one with Zelensky, Trump stated that if the talks are successful, another meeting with President Putin will be scheduled to advance the peace process.