US President Donald Trump. Photo: Getty Images
US President Donald Trump was reportedly ready to cut short talks with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska due to Putin’s intransigence over his demand to annex the entire Donetsk Oblast.
Source: Axios, cited by European Pravda
Details: Axios said that in Alaska, Putin put forward maximalist demands regarding Ukrainian territories, particularly Donetsk Oblast, where Russia currently controls about 75% of the territory.
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Putin insisted he wanted full control of the entire oblast – and at one point was so unyielding that Trump was ready to walk out of the talks, Axios writes.
“If Donetsk is the thing here and if there is no give, we should just not prolong this,” an Axios source quoted Trump as saying to Putin. Afterwards, Putin reportedly backed down from his demand.
US intelligence assessments of Russia’s capabilities vary, Axios noted. One indicates that Putin could take control of all of Donetsk Oblast by October, while another forecasts a far more difficult and uncertain process.
Background:
- Reuters earlier released an outline of Russia’s demands in Alaska for ending the war, including a requirement that Kyiv withdraw its troops from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
- Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States will not pressure Ukraine into ceding territory to Russia as part of a peace deal.
- On 17 August, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that negotiations with Russia must take the current line of contact into account. He noted that Ukraine’s Constitution makes it impossible to cede territory or exchange land.
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