Putin accuses England of sabotaging his Trump summit

Vladimir Putin wants to make one thing clear to Britain: Stay out of Donald Trump’s way. Russia is accusing Britain of trying to undermine Trump’s efforts to broker a peace deal in Ukraine as the president is gearing up to meet Putin in the coming days, Knewz.com can reveal.

The Kremlin hit back at England after U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned Putin cannot be trusted “as far as you could throw him,” and added Britain would stand with Kyiv until there was a “just” peace. This comes as concerns have grown that Ukraine’s future will be determined without any input from President Volodymyr Zelensky or NATO allies, a fear that Russia is not all about. “We note the incessant attempts by London and some of its partners to disrupt a peaceful resolution of the conflict [that can be reached] by addressing its root causes,” Russia’s embassy in London said in a statement. “This is clearly demonstrated by the statements and activities of the British leadership in the run-up to the Russian-American summit in Alaska. Such a policy once again confirms the opportunistic approach of the European capitals, which are counting on continuing to use Ukraine as an anti-Russian battering ram.” According to the embassy, Putin is “open to settling the Ukrainian conflict through political and diplomatic means.” Said the embassy, “We are talking about a lasting and long-term peace, which can only be achieved by eradicating the root causes of the crisis.”

Zelensky doesn’t buy anything Putin is selling. He recently said, “The Russians simply want to buy time, not end the war. The situation on the battlefield and Russia’s wicked strikes on civilian infrastructure and ordinary people prove this clearly.” The 47-year-old then claimed Putin only wants to use the meeting as “his personal victory and then continue acting exactly as before.” Zelensky noted Russia is “redeploying their troops and forces in ways that suggest preparations for new offensive operations.” He added, “If someone is preparing for peace, this is not what he does.” Recently, Russia’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, warned there are major efforts underway to disrupt Putin’s meeting with Trump, which is scheduled for Friday, August 15, in Alaska.

“Undoubtedly, a number of countries interested in continuing the conflict will make titanic efforts to disrupt the planned meeting between President Putin and President Trump,” Dimitriev wrote in a Telegram post. Meanwhile, Putin’s aides confirmed in a statement that they’re attending the summit, pointing out the Alaska location is a perfect meeting spot; however, Russia wants their next meeting on home turf. “Looking ahead, we would naturally expect the next meeting between the presidents to be held on Russia’s territory,” they said in a statement. “An invitation to that effect has already been made to the President of the United States.”

Despite the country’s excitement for the meeting, it has been noted that Putin, 72, has a standing arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) after his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Under the warrant, Putin risks arrest if he sets foot in any of the 125 ICC countries including the U.K., France, Germany and Canada. However, the dictator has lucked out as the U.S. is among the handful of countries that aren’t members of the ICC, making his arrest warrant effectively useless in Alaska. “A warrant from the ICC means nothing in those countries that are not signatories to it. And the Americans aren’t, so he can go to Alaska,” Security expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon explained, adding, “That is the loophole.”