President Donald Trump said the United States is aiming to reach a deal to halt Russia's war on Ukraine that would include "some swapping of territories."
At an Aug. 8 White House signing event on a peace deal between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Trump teased that a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin could be imminent. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "wants to see peace," and both Russia and Ukraine will have to give up territory, Trump said.
"You are looking at territory that has been fought over for 3.5 years," the two-term Republican U.S. president said. "We’re looking at that. But we’re looking at swapping. We’re going to get some back," referring to Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia. "We’re going to get some switched. They’ll be some swapping of territories."
U.S. and Russian officials have been working towards an agreement on territories for a planned summit meeting between Trump and Putin. Bloomberg cited unnamed sources who indicated the U.S. is working to get buy-in from Ukraine and its European allies on the deal – which is far from certain, the sources told Bloomberg.
A White House official said the Bloomberg story was speculation. A Kremlin spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
