President Donald Trump says he is close to reaching a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine that will involve “swapping of territories.”
“I think we’re getting very close,” Trump said.
“You’re looking at territory that’s been fought over for three and a half years,” he added. “There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both.”
The president made the announcement as his self-imposed deadline for Russia to make a deal or face sanctions Friday.
Trump later revealed Friday evening in a social media post that he would meet with Putin face-to-face in Alaska on August 15.
Trump on Friday answered questions about the war in Ukraine while hosting a peace summit between Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House.
He initially said he didn’t want to reveal further details about the talks because he didn’t want to overshadow his Friday event.
“I’ll be meeting very shortly with President Putin,” Trump said. “It would have been sooner, but I guess there’s security arrangements that, unfortunately, people have to make.”
In late July, the president moved up his deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal agreement, setting it on August 8 after previously saying Russia had 50 days to end the war or face punishing sanctions as well as “secondary sanctions” on countries that did business with Russia to exert economic pressure if no peace deal is reached.
The White House said on Wednesday that, despite progress being made this week with talks, the deadline remained.
Asked by a reporter on Friday if the Putin meeting would be Russia’s final chance to get a deal, Trump said he didn’t like to use the term “last chance.”
“President Putin, I believe, wants to see peace now,” Trump said despite previously voicing frustration that past talks with the Russian leader had been “meaningless.”
Trump also said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was working hard to get it done on his end.
When it came to the exchange of territory, Trump said it is “very complicated.”
“We’re going to get some back; there will be some switched,” the president said.
While the White House had previously indicated Zelensky would have to be included in any meeting, Trump relented on Thursday, saying it was not required for his Putin sitdown. Trump also said on Thursday that whether sanctions would be imposed after the deadline depends on Putin.
“It’s going to be up to him,” the president said. “We’re going to see what he has to say.”
On Wednesday, special envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Moscow to meet with Russian leaders in a last-minute effort to reach an agreement. Trump described those talks with Putin as “very good.”
The Kremlin also called the Witkoff meeting “useful and constructive.”
During those talks, Putin told the United States that he would end the war in exchange for Eastern Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The news set off a scramble for further details, but European leaders expressed skepticism as Russia did not commit to anything besides stopping fighting.
On the campaign trail, Trump claimed he would end the war in Ukraine on day one of his second term. But despite talks, he has struggled to close a deal.
The president has expressed his frustration with Putin in comments and posts over the past few months, calling the Russian leader “absolutely crazy.”
He also admitted in a rare move last month that a lot of Putin’s talk had been “meaningless” and that Russia had been throwing a lot of “bulls**t” as it stalls on making a deal.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
