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Presidential program: what could be the agreement between Russia and the United States on Ukraine
The EU and NATO will do everything possible to prevent the achievement of agreements on the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict. This was stated to Izvestia by the head of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, Grigory Karasin. The first face-to-face meeting between the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States since 2021 is scheduled to take place on August 15 in Alaska. At the same time, Russia has an advantage on the battlefield, and Moscow does not intend to give up its negotiating position. The greatest potential for an agreement exists in humanitarian issues and the non-aligned status of Ukraine, and the topic of territories remains the most acute, experts believe. However, the fate of the agreements will depend, among other things, on Donald Trump's ability to force Ukraine and the Europeans to implement them. About what the delegations of Russia and the United States are going to Alaska with and who is already working hard to disrupt this meeting — in the Izvestia article.
What agreements can be expected from the meeting of the Russian Federation and the United States in Alaska
Europeans and NATO members initially adhere to the stereotype of the unacceptability of a strong Russia, Grigory Karasin, head of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, told Izvestia.
— That is, they want to trample us. They will question all agreements aimed at a constructive way out of the Ukrainian crisis, will oppose them and hinder progress. We need to get used to this and calmly implement what corresponds to common sense. I hope that this meeting will bring this result," Karasin said in a conversation with Izvestia.
The politician stressed that the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump fundamentally contradicts the intentions of the European Union and NATO, and it is in this regard that the councils of these associations will be convened in the coming days.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump
Although the United States is also a member of NATO, they are now working with Hungary and Slovakia to establish a dialogue with Russia. At the same time, the two European countries also differ in that they do not supply weapons to Kiev. At the same time, most of the alliance, led by Britain, France and Germany, as part of the so-called "coalition of the willing," intend to continue putting pressure on Russia.
The first face-to-face talks between Putin and Trump since 2019 are scheduled to take place in Alaska on August 15. This was preceded by the visit of the special envoy of the President of the United States, Steve Witkoff, to Moscow on August 7. The Russian president held a three-hour meeting with him, following which the parties decided to begin preparations for the summit of the two leaders.
Despite the abundance of issues, the main topic of the negotiations will inevitably be the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. This topic has been the focus of the two presidents' attention since the Republican took office on January 20. The leaders have already held six telephone conversations, and also exchanged messages through intermediaries more than once. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio are also in constant contact.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for the Middle East Stephen Witkoff during a meeting, August 6, 2025
The tangle of complex issues of the conflict in Ukraine can be divided into three groups: territorial, political and humanitarian. On the latter point, Moscow and Kiev have already achieved limited success after three rounds of direct talks in Istanbul, starting in May. In particular, exchanges of prisoners and bodies of the dead are being conducted.
However, the most difficult topic is territories. Russia demands the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the areas they occupy in the DPR, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, which became part of the Russian Federation after the referendums in 2022. Ukraine categorically disagrees with this, its officials insist on maintaining the country's borders as of 1991.
Meanwhile, the Western media is already speculating about a possible compromise. The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, published an article stating that at the first stage Ukraine should withdraw troops from the occupied areas of the DPR, and then the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States will agree on a "final peace plan." Also among the possible options is the exchange of areas liberated by Russian troops in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions for the constitutional territories of the Russian Federation held by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Russia, which has resisted tens of thousands of sanctions and unprecedented military aid to Ukraine, is unlikely to give up its position. Most likely, it will be a question of stopping the conflict on the terms of the Russian Federation, whose troops not only knocked out the enemy from the Kursk region, but also made significant progress in Sumy, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions. This was stated to Izvestia by Mehdi Mehdiyev, a leading researcher at the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of the Russian Federation.
—We can expect that we will get closer to a truce, which will outline the future security system in Europe, because for Russia, the world after the Ukrainian conflict should not be worse than what it was before," the expert said.
Will Ukraine become a non-aligned state
Political issues mainly concern the political future of Ukraine. Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Sky News Arabia in June that Ukraine should have a neutral, non-aligned and nuclear-weapon-free status. The West partially agrees with this: Hungary and Slovakia are opposed to Kiev's joining the North Atlantic Alliance, and there are many doubters in other European countries. By the way, Donald Trump also made skeptical statements regarding Ukraine's accession to NATO. So the leaders of the Russian Federation and the United States have a better chance of reaching mutual understanding on this issue.
If the leaders of the world's two largest nuclear powers are meeting for the first time in a long time, it is likely that preliminary agreements already exist. It is unlikely that this will be a non-binding small talk, which is so popular in the USA, or a tea party for politeness. There is no doubt that both have a clear vision of the situation and ways out of it, Alexey Zhuravlev, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee, said in an interview with Izvestia.
— It is significant that no representatives of the EU or Ukraine are even invited. It is clear to everyone that both Brussels and Kiev simply follow any order from Washington, so there is nothing to talk about with them. At most, they will inform you about the results later. They will tell you exactly where to put the signature and who will need to smile now. And, believe me, it will be executed unconditionally," the politician believes.
In the humanitarian sphere, one of Russia's main demands is the restoration of the rights of Russian—speaking citizens in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed earlier. Moscow also does not abandon the protection of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is being persecuted in Ukraine. The Trump administration adheres to conservative values, and there are many people around the American leader who are concerned about protecting Christianity. Therefore, there is still room for mutual understanding on this issue.
At the same time, given the recent tension between the presidents, when the Republican issued a 10-day ultimatum to Moscow, the outcome of the meeting between Putin and Trump is not easy to predict, said Khan, a professor at Wayne University in Detroit, told Izvestia.
— Trump is up to his ears in foreign policy issues, including his inability and/or unwillingness to mitigate the conflict in Gaza, as well as personal issues such as the Epstein scandal. Some analysts claim that he is looking for a way to distract attention and, possibly, an opportunity to resolve the ongoing international conflict," the American expert said.
On the other hand, the head of the White House wants the United States to stop financing the conflict in Ukraine, said Vice President Jay Dee Vance. He added that American taxpayers are tired of sending their money to this conflict. This means that if Ukraine and Kiev refuse to comply with the agreements reached with Russia, Donald Trump will receive an absolutely legitimate reason to completely curtail the participation of the United States in this conflict.
Will Russia and the United States accept the agreement in the EU and Ukraine
Now Moscow and Washington are actively working with their allies, informing them about the progress of the negotiations. On August 8-9, the Russian president spoke by phone with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the heads of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of China Xi Jinping, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and President of Brazil Lula da Silva. And on August 10, Vladimir Putin had a conversation with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.
Donald Trump also informed his NATO allies about the results of negotiations with Vladimir Putin. In addition, US Vice President Jay Dee Vance met with British Foreign Minister David Lammy and national security advisers from Europe and Ukraine. However, if Russia's partners are determined to help the negotiation process, then there is a growing split in the West over the dialogue with Moscow.
In Europe, they are already trying to interfere with the negotiation process, since Trump's actions actually exclude Brussels, Paris and London from it, leaving them only the role of observers. The European "peace proposal" includes a demand for a cease-fire before any further steps are taken. It also says that the exchange of territories can only be carried out on a reciprocal basis: that is, if Ukraine withdraws troops from some regions, Russia must withdraw troops from others. Finally, Kiev should receive guarantees of membership in NATO. The alliance does not intend to stop arms supplies to Ukraine, regardless of the outcome of the Russia-US summit, Alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte said.
The Europeans are also asking Washington to involve Ukraine in the Alaska summit, but the White House has made it clear that it is a bilateral meeting that will take place now, although the US president is open to a trilateral format. The Kremlin has repeatedly stressed that the talks between Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky should be preceded by a lot of preparatory work.
Zelensky has already spoken out about territorial concessions in favor of Russia. He noted that Kiev is ready for solutions that can lead to peace, but it will not "donate its land."
One meeting is unlikely to be able to resolve such a complex and deep conflict. The implementation of any agreement between Russia and the United States will ultimately depend on the willingness of Ukraine and Europe to cooperate, which remains extremely uncertain, Tigran Meloyan, an analyst at the HSE Center for Mediterranean Studies, told Izvestia.
— It is still difficult to see the possibility that the United States will be able to put pressure on Ukraine, the European Union and the United Kingdom to make concessions and accept a potential deal. Moreover, the bilateral format of the summit itself is a strategic challenge for the transatlantic alliance, as it destroys the phenomenon of cohesion between the United States and the European Union," the expert said.
Today, European allies feel left out in making political decisions affecting critically important issues of European security, so it will be a matter of principle for them to fight this kind of "injustice," political analysts say.
At the same time, Trump has appropriate instruments of pressure on Ukraine and the EU, both economic and military supplies, recalled Oleg Karpovich, vice-rector of the Diplomatic Academy. But we don't know yet whether the American president is ready to use them: the upcoming summit will also be a test for his ability to solve non-trivial tasks.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
