U.S. president's remarks ahead of the meeting in Alaska confirm that Ukraine and Europe have been heard - Braze

RIGA - The remarks made by U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of the upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska confirm that Ukraine and Europe have been heard, Foreign Minister Baiba Braze (New Unity) said on Friday.

According to Braze, Russia has stepped up its propaganda machinery ahead of the meeting and is portraying the very fact of the Alaska meeting as a significant achievement, the minister's advisor Signe Znotina-Znota told LETA.

Trump said Friday his talks with Putin will include Russian demands that Ukraine cede territory as part of a peace deal, AP reports. He said Ukraine has to decide, but he also suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should accept concessions.

"I've got to let Ukraine make that decision. And I think they'll make a proper decision," Trump told reporters traveling with him to Alaska.

Trump said there is "a possibility" of the United States offering Ukraine security guarantees alongside European powers, "but not in the form of NATO." Putin has fiercely resisted Ukraine joining the trans-Atlantic security alliance, a long-term goal for Ukrainians seeking to forge stronger ties with the West.