- This will be Putin's first US visit since 2015 when he met Barack Obama
- Kremlin said talks will focus on a long-term peaceful resolution to Ukraine crisis
- Ukraine's President Zelensky rejected any land concessions to occupiers
After US President Donald Trump announced that he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next Friday, 15th August, in Alaska for talks aimed around ending the war in Ukraine, the Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said that India welcomes the understanding between the US and Russia for a meeting.
"India welcomes the understanding reached between the United States and the Russian Federation for a meeting in Alaska on 15th August 2025", the statement said, adding "This meeting holds the promise of bringing to an end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and opening up the prospects for peace. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said on several occasions, "This is not an era of war".
This will be Putin's first trip to the United States since 2015, when he met former President Barack Obama.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, "The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin of Russia will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska. Further details to follow. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
The Kremlin informed that the two leaders would "focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful resolution to the Ukrainian crisis", describing the process as "challenging" but one that Moscow would engage in "actively and energetically."
While speaking at the White House, Trump had said during the signing of the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace accord that striking a deal could involve exchanging land. "We're going to get some back, and we're going to get some switched. There'll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both, but we'll be talking about that either later or tomorrow," he told reporters.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that they "will not give their land to occupiers".
"The answer to Ukraine's territorial question is already in the constitution of Ukraine," Zelensky said in a message on Telegram. "No one will and no one can deviate from it. Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier."
Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff had a meeting with Putin in Moscow for three hours. The US said that the meeting was "highly productive".
On Wednesday, Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on India over its imports of Russian oil.
