Russia is hopeful about Trump-Putin summit

(MENAFN) Russia views the forthcoming summit in Alaska between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump as an opportunity to repair strained relations and address longstanding issues, according to comments from Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.

In an interview on Tuesday, Ryabkov said the much-anticipated meeting scheduled for August 15 in the largest U.S. state will not only focus on resolving the conflict in Ukraine but also on reviving bilateral ties that hit historic lows during the previous U.S. administration.

“We hope that the forthcoming high-level meeting will give an impulse to the normalization of bilateral relations, which will allow us to move forward on several issues,” Ryabkov stated, confirming that the restoration of direct passenger flights between Russia and the U.S. could be among the topics discussed. These flights were suspended in 2022 following extensive sanctions imposed by Washington over the Ukraine situation.

He also noted that “it is clear that the leaders will focus on other topics,” pointing to the Ukraine conflict. Recently, Trump described the summit as a “feel-out meeting” and mentioned that discussions might include a potential territorial swap deal between Russia and Ukraine as part of a settlement.

However, Ryabkov admitted that “at this stage, there is no observable progress regarding the return of Russian diplomatic property in the US.” This referred to several properties, including Russia’s consulate in San Francisco, which were closed by U.S. authorities between 2016 and 2017.

At the time, Washington justified these actions, along with the expulsion of numerous Russian diplomats, by citing alleged interference in U.S. elections. Moscow has denied these accusations and accused the U.S. of “expropriation” of properties that are protected under diplomatic immunity.

MENAFN12082025000045017281ID1109917397