NEW: Date Set For Long Awaited Trump-Putin Meeting

U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, have set a date for a face-to-face meeting in Alaska after several weeks of intense negotiations and an enormous sanctions rollout aimed at bringing the Kremlin to the table.

The White House announced Friday that the long-awaited meeting is scheduled for August 15. Trump left the door open to a meeting in Turkey earlier this year, though he ultimately opted not to meet after Putin backed out of talks with Ukrainian President Zelensky at the last minute.

The two sides are expected to discuss a potential resolution to the War in Ukraine, which erupted in wider Ukraine in 2022 and has already become the deadliest European conflict since the Second World War. Trump made the announcement after hinting that the warring nations were close to a ceasefire deal that could resolve the three-and-a-half-year conflict.

Ukraine would likely be forced to surrender some of its territory in the nation’s east, including Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, according to reports. The Russian federation has already annexed the territories, in addition to Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in controversial referendums that have not been recognized by the international community.

Crimea has been under de facto Russian control for a decade, while the conflicts in Donetsk and Luhansk served as Russia’s rationale for the conflict in wider Ukraine. Despite annexing the four oblasts in 2022, Russia has not been able to control all territory within them.

While speaking with reporters at the White House Friday, Trump confirmed that any peace agreement would likely involve an exchange of some land. “There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both,” the president said.

In his evening address to the nation on Friday, Zelenskyy said it was possible to achieve a ceasefire as long as adequate pressure was applied to Russia. He further revealed that he has had close discussions with more than a dozen world leaders in recent days, adding that his team has been in constant contact with the White House.

Bloomberg News reported that the U.S. and Russia have discussed an agreement that would recognize Russian territorial gains made since its 2022 invasion. A White House official refused to confirm nor deny the report, referring to it as “speculation.”

In the past, Zelensky’s administration has been opposed to ceding any territory. The beleaguered nation now appears more open to discussing all possibilities to end the conflict, though the loss of one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory could be politically challenging.

It is unclear what security guarantees — such as NATO membership — would be extended to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.