Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, has issued a warning that several countries are engaged in ‘titanic efforts’ to sabotage the upcoming Trump-Putin summit focused on Ukraine peace negotiations. The summit, scheduled for August 15 in Alaska, lacks detailed information, and it remains unclear if Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will attend. The Kremlin has stated that the meeting will focus on achieving a long-term peaceful resolution to the Ukrainian crisis.
Dmitriev, known as Putin’s ‘shadow foreign minister’ for his behind-the-scenes role in shaping Russia’s global diplomacy, emphasized the potential for diplomatic sabotage. While he did not name specific countries, he warned that critics of the summit could attempt to disrupt the talks through diplomatic maneuvers or media-driven provocations. Several NATO countries in Europe have been openly skeptical of any deal that rewards Russian aggression in the three-year-old war.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin issued a statement noting that Trump and Putin are expected to ‘focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful resolution to the Ukrainian crisis.’ The statement added that ‘this will evidently be a challenging process, but we will engage in it actively and energetically.’ Trump has previously suggested that Putin and Zelenskyy were close to a ceasefire deal, though this would require Kyiv to concede significant territory, an outcome that many European allies and Ukrainians oppose.