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By Shane Croucher
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Russia pointed to its constitution in response to a remark by U.S. President Donald Trump that there would likely be a "swapping of territories" in a deal to end Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Trump is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday to discuss a peace deal. Territorial control is a key issue. Russia has seized about a fifth of Ukrainian land in the east. Ukraine controls no Russian territory.
Asked about Trump's suggestion that Russia and Ukraine could swap land, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexei Fadeev said at a news briefing on Wednesday that there was "no need to even invent anything territorial."
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"The structure of the Russian Federation is enshrined in the Constitution of our country," Fadeev said, originally in Russian. "That says it all."
He added that the goals of the delegation led by Putin in Alaska were "dictated exclusively by national interests."
Ukraine also says it is bound by its constitution not to concede any of its territory to Russia, including Crimea, the strategic Black Sea peninsula Moscow annexed in 2014.
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Trump on Russia-Ukraine Land Swap
Trump was asked on August 8 whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would have to give up territory as part of a peace deal to end the full-scale invasion Russia launched in February 2022.
"Well, you're looking at territory that's been fought over for three and a half years. You know, a lot of Russians have died. A lot of Ukrainians have died," Trump said.
"So we're looking at that, but we're actually looking to get some back. Some swapping. It's complicated," he added.
Trump continued: "We're going to get some back. We're going to get some switched. There'll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both, but we'll be talking about that either later or tomorrow."
Europe Urges Trump
The war continues as Russia tries to extend its control over areas of eastern Ukraine ahead of the Alaska summit, which would give Putin additional leverage.
Trump has for months sought to broker an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, which he sees as a needless waste of life and resources. But he has grown increasingly frustrated with Putin in recent weeks as Moscow intensified its aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Ukraine and its European allies are urging Trump not to consent to any concessions of territory without Kyiv's agreement, warning that doing so would reward Russia's use of force to resolve its disputes and have grave implications for security in the region.
European leaders and Zelensky are due to speak with Trump on Wednesday to gauge his position going into the talks with Putin.
Russia said it invaded neighboring Ukraine to halt its ambitions to join NATO, the U.S.-led defensive alliance that Moscow sees as a critical security threat, and to stop what it said was the persecution of ethnic Russians in the country.
Kyiv has accused Russia of an imperial war of conquest and seeking to eradicate Ukrainian sovereignty and culture, folding it under Moscow's control before it could deepen ties with the West through the European Union and NATO.
Updated 8/13/25, 7:47 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with more information.
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