Trump says he's not going to Alaska meeting to negotiate for Ukraine
US President Donald Trump has said that the goal of the Alaska summit with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is to bring Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table, and no decisions on Ukrainian territory will be made without Ukraine.
A journalist asked Trump during a press gaggle on Air Force One en route to Alaska whether he and Putin would be discussing territory swaps in Alaska.
"They’ll be discussed, but I’ve got to let Ukraine make that decision, and I think they’ll make a proper decision," he replied.
Trump said he is not going to the summit with the Kremlin leader "to negotiate for Ukraine".
"I’m here to get him [Putin] at a table. I think you have two sides," he noted.
On the eve of the meeting, Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation reported that Putin was preparing "historical materials" to bring to the meeting in an attempt to prove that Ukraine is an artificial state.
Trump said he expects Putin to take the meeting seriously, warning of very severe consequences for Moscow if the Russian leader did not agree to take steps to end the war.
On the morning of 15 August, hundreds of people gathered in Anchorage in support of Ukraine ahead of the Trump-Putin summit.