Europeans Want to Talk to Trump Before He Goes to Putin's Alaska – Bloomberg

European leaders want to talk to US President Donald Trump before he meets with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Alaska. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter.

The conversation follows a "busy weekend" of diplomatic talks between U.S., Ukrainian and European officials, including a meeting in the UK with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy .

EU ambassadors were briefed on the talks on August 10, and the bloc's foreign ministers are to meet virtually on August 11.

According to Bloomberg, as part of ongoing talks between U.S. and Russian officials, Putin is demanding that Ukraine hand over all of its eastern Donbas region to Russia, as well as Crimea, which his forces occupied in 2014. Russia is putting forward this as a condition for a ceasefire and the start of negotiations on a long-term settlement.

At the same time, Ukraine and its European allies insist on a ceasefire and freezing of the current front line as a first step before negotiating a longer-term settlement. They also believe that continuing economic pressure on Moscow through sanctions should be a way to shake Putin.

Trump threatened sanctions against Russia before the "deadline" that ended on August 8, but the US president has so far refrained from taking direct action against the Kremlin, except for imposing additional tariffs on India over its purchase of Russian oil.

• on August 9, Trump announced that he had agreed to meet with Putin in Alaska on August 15. He confirmed that the United States is considering a "territory swap" between Ukraine and Russia as part of this process "for the benefit of both sides.".
• On August 10, a joint statement was issued by European leaders, noting that the current line of contact should be the starting point for peace talks .
• NATO Secretary General Rutte says he is convinced that Trump will see if Putin is serious when he meets with him. If not, "that's the end of it".