Washington. Us President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart are preparing a schedule for this week’s US-Russia summit in Alaska, Vice President J.D. Vance has said.

Vice President Vance said the United States was trying to get Zelensky to attend a meeting between Trump and his Russian counterpart at a time when Ukraine’s European allies have been pressing for Kiev’s presence.

In an interview with Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Vance said: “The most significant obstacle is that Vladimir Putin has said that he will never sit in talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.” ’

“We’re at a point where we’re clearly trying to figure out the schedule and similar measures. It will be our endeavor to find an environment where President Trump, Putin and Zelensky can sit down and discuss the end of this conflict,” Vance said when asked about his expectations for the Alaska summit on August 15.

The vice president said the United States was trying to find a negotiated solution that respects both “Ukrainians and Russians”.

“It won’t make anyone very happy, both Russians and Ukrainians will probably be unhappy by the end of the day,” Vance added. ’

Without Zelensky, a summit between the United States and Russia in Alaska had raised concerns that Kiev would have to return its territory, which the European Union has rejected.

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker told CNN that Zelensky could attend the summit.

Zelensky was asked on Friday whether he could collaborate with Trump and Putin. “Yes, I think it’s possible,” he said. “Of course, there cannot be an agreement that not everyone involved agrees to i.e. this dialogue is a top priority to end this war. ’

In the last three days, Zelensky has held talks with 13 of Kiev’s main supporters, including Germany, Britain and France.

German Chancellor Frederic Merz has expressed hope to attend the Zelensky summit. Whitaker said the decision would ultimately be trump’s. “If he thinks this is the best scenario to invite Zelensky, he can do so,” he said, adding that no decision has been made at this point. ’

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their homes since Russia launched a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.