All news

Trump allows Putin to get advantage in resolving Ukraine conflict — US leader’s ex-adviser

According to John Bolton, the US leader has allowed Vladimir Putin to get first mover advantage by putting his peace plan on the negotiating table first

NEW YORK, August 11. /TASS/. The upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump will give the Russian leader an advantage in resolving the Ukraine conflict, former US National Security Advisor John Bolton opined.

"He (Trump - TASS) has allowed Putin to get first mover advantage by putting his peace plan on the [negotiating] table first. You can already see from Trump's own statements he thinks that [Ukraine’s Vladimir] Zelensky has to make constitutional modifications for Ukraine to cede territory," Bolton told ABC News in an interview.

Earlier, Trump said that he expects to meet with Putin in Alaska on August 15. The date and venue for the upcoming talks were later confirmed by Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov, who said that Putin and Trump will "certainly focus on discussing scenarios of reaching a lasting peace in Ukraine." Ushakov stressed that the Kremlin expects any follow-up meeting between the two leaders to take place on Russian soil after their talks in Alaska.

Trump said a potential deal could require Ukraine to surrender significant parts of its territory and Russia to return some land to Ukraine.