Trump: There should be territory swap in the interests of both Ukraine and Russia
US President Donald Trump has said that a peace agreement on the Russia-Ukraine war should be expected to include "some swapping of territories".
Source: Trump during a White House briefing on 8 August
Quote: "We are going to have a meeting with Russia. We'll start off with Russia and we'll announce a location. I think the location will be a very popular one for a lot of reasons. But we'll be announcing that a little bit later.
Now, President Zelenskyy has to get everything he needs, because he's going to have to get ready to sign something."
Details: Trump added that there would be a territorial exchange beneficial to both sides as part of the announced agreement.
Quote: "You're looking at territory that's been fought over for three and a half years. A lot of Russians have died. A lot of Ukrainians have died. So we're looking at that, but we're actually looking to get some back and some swapping. It's very complicated… But we're going to get some back, we're going to get some switched. There will be some swapping of territories, to the betterment of both."
Details: Trump also said that "if we [the US] didn't come, Ukraine, Russia would have ended up being a world war and I stopped that".
"Now the only question is when is it going to be settled and it could be very soon," he added.
Trump also believes there is a chance for a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelenskyy. He thinks Putin wants peace just as much as Ukraine and other European leaders do.
Background:
- Earlier, NBC News, citing an anonymous senior White House official, reported that a meeting between Trump and Putin was being prepared and was tentatively scheduled for the end of next week.
- Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that a meeting between Putin and Trump was planned for the coming days, likely next week. Trump himself publicly said there was a "good chance" of meeting the Kremlin leader soon.
- Sky News reported that Trump had likely spoken with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni about the possibility of holding a meeting with Putin in Rome.
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