The August 15th summit will be a test of whether Trump can make progress in a peace agreement that is acceptable to both Ukraine and Russia.
Trump is threatening Russia with serious consequences on the Ukrainian war
President Donald Trump threatened Russia with serious consequences if President Vladimir Putin refused to end the war after a future meeting.
After months of diplomatic efforts to end the Ukrainian war, President Donald Trump faces a very extreme moment to give birth to the Russian president in a peace agreement to face Vladimir Putin.
Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022, reluctant to stop the bloody conflict, annoyed Trump, assaulted and threatened financial punishments. The August 15th summit is a test of whether Trump can make progress in deals that are acceptable to both Ukraine and Russia.
The two leaders meet at a US military base in Alaska. Not Invited: Ukrainian President Voldimia Zelensky spoke twice this week with Trump, rejecting the idea of territorial concessions to end the war.
Trump and the White House have downplayed expectations for the meeting, and the president said on August 14 that the “more important meeting” would be a meeting that includes both Zelensky and Putin. It’s going to come next, he said.
“We’re going to see what happens,” Trump said on August 14th. “And I think Putin will make peace. I think President Zelensky will make peace. I think President Zelensky will make peace. I’ll see if they can get along well.
Trump calls Putin a “smart man” on his way to Alaska.
When asked what’s different in a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Putin, President Trump reflected on his impression of the Russian leader and their relationship during an interview with Air Force reporters on his way to Alaska.
“Look, he’s a smart guy,” Trump said. “We get along well. It’s a good level of respect on both sides. And I think something’s coming from it, you know.”
Trump said he realized Putin is “bringing many businessmen from Russia.”
“That’s fine. I like it,” he said. “They want to do business, but they’re not doing business until we start a war.”
–Swapna venugopal ramaswamy
Potus on the way to meet Putin
President Donald Trump left the White House around 7:30am on August 15th in preparation for a highly anticipated meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He had one message to those watching “High Stakes.” He wrote in a Truth Social Post early in the morning.
Travelling with him is a close aide of 16 members, consisting of ministers, communications staff and aides. It includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent, Commerce Secretary Howard Rutnik, Chief of Staff Susie Wills, Director of John Ratcliffe and White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt.
-Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
India’s secondary tariffs “maybe involved in the ‘Putin Trump Summit”
On the eve of his trip to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump said secondary tariffs on India for “probably” buying oil from Russia were involved in Putin who wanted to meet him.
On July 28th, Trump gave Russia an ultimatum. Decide a ceasefire in Ukraine within 10-12 days or face sanctions.
Instead, on August 8, when the deadline was supposed to expire, Trump announced that he had met Putin on August 15th.
Meanwhile, Trump announced that a 25% secondary tariff on India will come into effect later that month, in addition to the country-specific 25% tariffs, to buy oil from Russia.
In an interview with Brian Kilmeade of Fox News on August 14th, Trump was asked if the 10-day deadline was testing the meeting schedule in Moscow.
“Everything affects,” Trump said. He added that India’s secondary tariffs “deprived the country from purchasing oil from Russia.”
“I certainly think it’s going to have a role when you lose the second biggest customer and perhaps the first biggest customer,” he said of Russia’s incentives to meet.
–Swapna venugopal ramaswamy
Back in 1991, the once-fighting Soviet Union fell apart, and Westerners cheered, Vladimir Putin’s favorite rock and roll band released “Don’t Faquel Around, America.”
This resilient, accordion-led single ignored the misguided collapse of the Soviet dictatorship, instead pointing out the listener 2.4 miles eastward and the 49th US state across the Bering Strait:
“Please return us Alaska/ Give us dear Native American land.”
Now that President Donald Trump is hosting Putin at a military base in Alaska, the song by Ruba, the Rubble Rousing Rocker, has resurfaced the theory of a conspiracy that claims Uncle Sam had deceived his mother Russia from the 665,000-square-mile Arctic Jewel.
Read more about the regrets of Russian sellers on USA Today.
– and Morrison
What time is Alaska now? What time does the meeting start?
Alaska is currently 4 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.
The Trump-Putin meeting is scheduled to begin daytime in Alaska around 11am, according to the White House.
– None
Trump and Putin will meet in Anchorage, Alaska, at the Elmendorf Richardson joint base, home to around 30,000 service members, their families and civilian employees.
Alaska was once a part of Russia. The US bought it in 1867 for $7.2 million.
Trump met with Putin multiple times in 2018 during his first term in office, including Finland’s Helsinki. Putin denied intervening in the 2016 election.
-Zac Anderson
Trump has had a well-known and warm relationship with Putin over the years, and often praises Russian dictators. Trump reportedly shared the Intelligence News, which was classified as a Russian official, during his first term, attempting to ease US opposition to Russia’s past attacks on Ukraine and its human rights abuses.
Meanwhile, Ukraine and Zelensky appeared in one of the lowest points of Trump’s first term. He was fired up on allegations that he pressured Zelensky to dig up the dirt on his political rival Joe Biden.
Trump’s friendly approach to Putin has been largely continuing as he worked to get a peace deal, focusing his anger on Zelensky, most notably during an explosive, oval office meeting where the two publicly clashed. Trump told Ukrainian leaders that he “doesn’t have a card” when it comes to resolving a dispute that favors the country.
However, recently Trump has repeatedly denounced Putin and complained about his dislike of trying to stop the fight.
Putin escalated an attack on Ukraine before the summit. The summit was called “a sign of extremely malicious” by former GOP house speaker and Trump’s ally Newt Ginrich. Trump said on August 13 that if Putin doesn’t agree to end the war, there will be “very serious consequences.”
-Zac Anderson
Trump is trying to drive Moscow into the horrors of Kiev and its allies into an agreement that includes the loss of important territory seized by Russia in the war three years ago.
Speculating about the final deal on August 8th, Trump said it would include a “territorial exchange.”
It drew a sharp response from Zelenskyy, who said, “The Ukrainians would not give their land to the occupyers.”
But Trump continued pushing on August 11, saying that he was “a bit troubling” by the Ukrainian leader’s claim that the exchange of land would violate the country’s constitution.
“There will be some exchanges,” Trump insisted on August 11th. “There will be some changes to the land.”
The debate over territorial concessions rests on the summit. Putin claims not only the Black Sea Peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014, but four Ukrainian regions: Luhansk, Donetsk, Zapolizia and Herson.
-Zac Anderson, Francesca Chambers, Lauren Villagran
