WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump is set to join an Aug. 13 virtual meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, two days before Trump’s one-on-one summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Zelenskyy arrived in Berlin on Wednesday for a virtual conferenced hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that will include leaders of NATO members Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, Poland and the European Union. Trump and Vice President JD Vance are expected to call into the meeting, which is set for 9 a.m. ET.
“Will be speaking to European Leaders in a short while,” Trump wrote in an Aug. 13 early morning post on Truth Social. “They are great people who want to see a deal done.”
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Trump is meeting with Putin in Anchorage, Alaska on Aug. 15 without the presence of Zelenskyy or any leaders from European countries, who are expected to stress to Trump during the virtual call not to capitulate to Putin’s demands during the summit.
Trump this week raised the idea of a “land swap” in which Ukraine would give up territory to Russia in a potential peace deal and said he was “a little bothered” by Zelenskyy’s arguing that doing so would violate his country’s constitution.
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The White House has sought to temper expectations about Trump’s meeting with Putin, which comes after Trump has increasingly expressed frustration with the Russian leader’s unwillingness to halt fighting in Ukraine. The Ukraine-Russia war has raged for three and a half years. The White House said Putin requested the meeting.
“This is a listening exercise for the president,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Aug. 12. “This is for the president to go and to get a more firm and better understanding of how we can hopefully bring this war to an end.”
Contributing: Francesca Chambers of USA TODAY; Reuters
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump to meet virtually with Zelenskyy ahead of his summit with Putin
