Russia: "Ukraine Issue Is Main Topic of Summit... Economic Cooperation Also on Agenda"

The Kremlin announced on August 14 (local time) that the main topic of the summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, to be held in Alaska, will be resolving the Ukraine issue.

According to Russian news agencies such as TASS and RIA Novosti, Yuri Ushakov, the Kremlin's foreign policy aide, stated during a briefing that it has been agreed to hold the Russia-U.S. summit on August 15 at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.

Ushakov explained that while the central topic of the meeting between President Putin and President Trump will be resolving the Ukraine crisis, the two leaders will also discuss bilateral cooperation in the economic sector and global security issues.

According to Ushakov, the summit will begin with a one-on-one conversation between President Putin and President Trump, accompanied by interpreters, at approximately 10:30 p.m. Moscow time (11:30 a.m. Alaska time) on August 15, followed by negotiations involving both countries' delegations.

Ushakov added that the two presidents will also attend a working lunch and a joint press conference.

The delegation-level negotiations will be held in a 5-on-5 format. On the Russian side, participants will include Ushakov, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and Special Presidential Representative for Overseas Investment and Economic Cooperation Kirill Dmitriev, representing the diplomatic, military, and economic sectors.

Ushakov stated that the composition of the U.S. delegation has also been finalized, but it would be appropriate to wait for an official announcement from the United States. He also mentioned that the Russian delegation will return directly to Moscow upon completion of the summit.

TASS reported that an Ilyushin (IL)-96 special aircraft, believed to be carrying the advance team preparing for the summit, took off from Moscow's Vnukovo Airport and is en route to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.