WASHINGTON, August 24. /TASS/. The US Department of State has congratulated Ukraine on Independence Day, and expressed hope that a negotiated settlement of the Ukrainian conflict will uphold the country’s sovereignty.

"We believe in a negotiated settlement that upholds Ukrainian sovereignty and guarantees its long-term security, leading to durable peace," according to a document released on the State Department’s website.

On August 15, Russian and US presidents, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, met at a military base in Alaska. The conversation lasted about three hours, including a change of formats: one-on-one in the limo of the American leader on the way to the main meeting place and in a narrow three-on-three format. In a press statement following the talks, Putin said that the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict was the main topic of the summit. The Russian leader also called for turning the page in bilateral relations and resuming cooperation, and invited Trump to Moscow. For his part, the US president announced the progress made in the talks, but noted that the parties had not managed to reach an agreement.

On August 19, US President Donald Trump received Vladimir Zelensky, presidents of Finland and France Alexander Stubb and Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister of Great Britain Keir Starmer, Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz, and the head of the Italian government Giorgia Meloni. In addition, the meeting was attended by the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. According to Macron, the talks focused on security guarantees for Ukraine.