President Trump announces time and place to meet President Putin
President Trump announced that he will meet with his Russian counterpart Putin in Alaska next week, hinting at a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
According to the New York Times, on August 8, US President Donald Trump revealed some details about his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin after presiding over the signing ceremony of a peace agreement at the White House with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
"The highly anticipated meeting between me and Mr. Putin will be held next Friday (August 15) in the state of Alaska. Specific information will be announced later," Mr. Trump said.
Earlier, Mr. Trump also hinted to reporters at the White House that a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine could "include an exchange of some territories."
"These are disputed territories that have been in dispute for more than three years. It's a complicated issue, but we're going to try to exchange territories in a way that's beneficial to both sides," Trump said.
On the same day, President Trump also oversaw the signing of a peace agreement between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The White House chief announced that the two neighboring countries had pledged to end fighting, open diplomatic relations and respect each other's territorial integrity.
"They had their problems for 35 years, but now they are friends, and will be friends for a long time," Mr. Trump declared.
According to local media, the US-brokered peace deal includes the development of a strategic transit corridor through the South Caucasus. It also includes separate agreements with individual countries to expand cooperation in energy, trade and technology, including artificial intelligence, and the White House has also lifted restrictions on defence cooperation between Azerbaijan and the US.
Both Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders welcomed the US mediation efforts, with President Aliyev even saying he would nominate Mr Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.