Trump pushes Ukraine to agree to 'land swap' with Russia ahead of Putin summit
President Donald Trump laid out expectations for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where he said he hoped to 'feel out' the leader's willingness to end the Ukraine war.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump again raised the idea of a "land swap" that would see Ukraine give up territory to Russia after his previous proposal drew pushback from European leaders and was rejected by Ukraine's president.
Trump said he was "a little bothered" by Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's assertion over the weekend that it would violate his country's constitution to cede territory to Moscow that Russia captured in its unprovoked invasion.
"He's got approval to go into a war and kill everybody, but he needs approval to do a land swap? Because there'll be some landswapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody," Trump told reporters during an Aug. 11 news conference.
He said some of the moves will be good for Ukraine – but some will be bad.
"It's very complex, because you have lines that are very uneven," Trump declared. "There will be some swapping. There will be some changes in land, and the word that they will use is, they make changes. We're going to change the lines, the battlelines."
Trump made the comments as he laid out his expectations for a summit this week with Vladimir Putin, where he said he hoped to "feel out" the Russian leader's willingness to reach an agreement to end the war.
The conflict began in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia currently controls roughly 20% of Ukraine.
The administration has not shared additional details on the format for Trump's summit with Putin beyond the fact that it's scheduled for Aug. 15 in Alaska, a territory the United States purchased from Russia in 1867.
"This is really a feel-out meeting, a little bit. And President Putin invited me to get involved," Trump told reporters.
Trump said he planned to call Zelenskyy, who is not expected to attend, and European leaders immediately after the meeting and tell them what Putin offered.
"I'm not going to make a deal. It's not up to me to make a deal," Trump declared.
Trump says he'll push Putin to end Ukraine war
The sanctions that Trump said he'd be putting on Putin if a deal was not reached by Aug. 8 also appeared to be on hold as the leaders prepared for their in-person meeting. Trump made an example out of India, hiking tariffs on the country's products to 50% for buying Russian oil, ahead of the sanctions deadline.
Trump acknowledged at a news conference that he's been disappointed by Putin in the past but said he feels obligated to try to solve the war.
The president said he thought it was "respectful" of Putin to come to the United States rather than holding the summit in Russia or another country. "I think we'll have constructive conversations," Trump said.
Trump suggested that the simple act of confronting Putin to his face could persuade the Russian leader, repeating claims that the war wouldn't have started if he were president when it began.
"I'm going in to speak to Vladimir Putin, and I'm going to be telling him, 'you've got to end this war. You've got to end it,'" Trump said. "He wasn't going to mess with me. This war would have never happened."
Alluding to previous claims that the Ukraine could have prevented Putin from invading, Trump said: "I get along with Zelenskyy, but you know I disagree with what he's done, very, very severely disagree. This is a war that should have never happened, wouldn't have happened."
Trump said he would like Putin and Zelenskyy to meet next, possibly with him. Yet, he also said he could walk away from the war after his talk with Putin if he believes there's no hope for a settlement.
"I'm going to go and see the parameters. Now I may leave, and say, 'good luck,' and that will be the end. I may say, 'this is not going to be settled,'" Trump said.
Trump said during an Aug. 8 White House event that "some swapping of territories" would be taking place. "We’re looking at swapping. We’re going to get some back," he said.
Zelenskyy said in a thread on X the following day that the war can't be ended without Ukraine's approval: "The answer to the Ukrainian territorial question already is in the Constitution of Ukraine. No one will deviate from this—and no one will be able to. Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier."