Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to the leaders of India, China, South Africa and three ex-Soviet states on August 8 in a flurry of calls to brief them on his contacts with the United States about the war in Ukraine.
Putin met U.S President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on August 6, after which the Kremlin said a summit between Putin and Trump could take place as early as next week. Trump, pressing for an end to the 3-1/2-year war, had set a deadline that expired on August 8 for Russia to agree to peace or face new sanctions on Moscow and countries that buy Russian exports. China and India are the biggest buyers of Russian oil.
Trump said in a social media post that he will meet with Putin on August 15 in Alaska to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. Addressing reporters at the White House earlier, Trump suggested an agreement would involve some exchange of land. “There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both,” the Republican president said.
China’s President Xi Jinping told Putin in a phone call that China is pleased to see Russia and the United States maintaining contact and improving ties.
Modi in a post on X said, “Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin. I thanked him for sharing the latest developments on Ukraine.”
Putin also spoke with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who expressed South Africa’s “full support to peace initiatives that will end the war and contribute to a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine.” Russia, China, India, South Africa and the UAE are all members of the BRICS group of countries which Moscow sees as a counterweight to U.S. political and economic dominance.
