Land swapping to dominate Alaska summit
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Kyiv and Moscow will both have to cede land to end the war in Ukraine and talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week will instantly show whether the Kremlin leader is willing to make a deal.
European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy plan to speak with Trump this week ahead of his summit with Putin in Alaska on Friday, amid fears Washington may dictate unfavorable peace terms to Ukraine.
Trump has hardened his stance towards Moscow by agreeing to allow additional US weapons to reach Ukraine and threatening tariffs against buyers of Russian oil but fears persisted in Europe that he might agree to a deal that forces big concessions from Kyiv.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday that "transatlantic unity, support to Ukraine and pressure on Russia" were needed to end the war and "prevent future Russian aggression in Europe".
Trump told a White House press conference of his talks with Putin, "This is really a feel-out meeting." He said he would know "probably in the first two minutes" of his meeting with Putin whether progress was possible. "I'm going to be telling him, 'You've got to end this war,'" he said. "I'm going to go and see the parameters now. I may leave and say, 'Good luck.' And that'll be the end. I may say, 'This, this is not going to be settled.'"
Trump said a future meeting could include Zelenskiy and the US goal is a speedy ceasefire in the bloody 3-1/2-year-old conflict. He plans to talk to European leaders soon after his talks with Putin.
Trump has in the past talked about land swaps but neither Russia nor Ukraine has been open to ceding land as part of a peace deal.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said: "There'll be some land swapping going on." "I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody, to the good of Ukraine," he said.
He said Russia had occupied some "very prime territory" but "we're going to try to get some of that territory back."
Kallas said in a post on X that the EU would work to increase sanctions against Russia, military support for Ukraine and assistance for Ukraine's budget needs and accession to the EU.
Meanwhile, Zelenskiy warned that any concessions to Russia would not persuade it to stop fighting and more pressure needed to be exerted on the Kremlin.