Ukraine and its allies, a meeting in the UK before the Trump-Putin summit. The plan that alarmed on European officials / “could stimulate Russia to attack again”

High Ukrainian, American and European officials will seek a common position in the context of the planned meeting between Trump and Putin, to have a meeting in the UK before August 15, writes the American Axios, citing three familiar sources with these plans.

US President Donald Trump announced, on Friday night, that his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin will take place next Friday. Previously, the leader of the White House had stated that the parties, including the President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, were close to a fire termination agreement that could resolve the three and a half years conflict.

According to Axios, Ukraine and its allies will seek a common position before Trump-Putin meeting and are about to discuss in this regard.

The special US messenger Steve Witkoff met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow on August 6, in the context of intensifying the efforts of the white house to mediate a peace agreement.

Trump has previously announced that Russia has a term until August 8 to reach a ceasefire agreement in the war against Ukraine. Despite Russia's refusal to cease hostilities, the US president did not impose Moscow sanctions.

In a telephone conference on August 8, a face-to-face meeting was proposed among senior officials in Ukraine, Europe and the US, Axios reported.

The logistics of meetings in the UK, including participants, is still under discussion. In total, three telephone conferences took place after Witkoff's visit.

“Could stimulate Russia to attack again”

At a telephone conference on August 6 between President Volodimir Zelenski, Trump and European leaders, some participants had the impression that Putin was ready to give up Russia's claims on Zaporojie regions and Herson in Southern Ukraine, two of the sources said.

Witkoff told participants in the conversation that Putin will put an end to the Russia's war against Ukraine if Kiev accepts to give up the regions of Lugansk, Donețk and Crimea, the two sources added.

On the contrary, in a telephone conversation the next day, Witkoff said that Putin was willing to freeze the situation along the current front lines, which include occupied territories in the Zaporojie and Herson regions, Axios reported.

This alarmed some European officials, who have expressed concern that it was Putin's attempt to avoid the sanctions threatened by Trump, who had to be applied on Friday, while offering little instead.

The possibility for Russia to take control over the regions Donetk and Lugansk, in a fire termination agreement, has aroused concerns about whether such an agreement would encourage Russia to attack Ukraine again.

“The official recognition of the territories conquered by strength, at no cost, is an incentive to do more in the future,” said a European official informed on this topic. “It could stimulate Russia to attack Ukraine again in a few years.”

In order for Zelenski to give in to the Ukrainian territory, a referendum should be organized, an anonymous Ukrainian official noted.

Trump and Zelenski are working on an agreement “to sign something” that does not violate Ukraine's laws, Axios reported.

“There will be an exchange of territories”

The US leader said that a potential peace agreement will involve “a certain exchange” of territories, as the US intensifies its efforts to mediate a peace agreement. “There will be an exchange of territories for the benefit of both parties,” he said.

“Well, we are talking about a territory for which it has been fighting for three and a half years. So we analyze the situation, but in fact, we try to recover some of the territory,” Trump said at a press conference with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan. “Some exchanges are complicated”

For his part, Volodimir Zelenski said, in his Friday's speech, that it is possible to reach an armistice, as long as an adequate pressure on Russia is exerted. He said he had more discussions with the leaders of different countries and that his team is in permanent contact with the United States.

The Kremlin confirmed on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska on Friday with his American counterpart Donald Trump, describing the choice for meeting as “quite logical,” AFP reports.