U.S. NATO Ambassador Matthew Whitaker said President Trump will have to “trust but verify” Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Alaska on Friday, where they plan to hold talks about ending the war with Ukraine.

On Friday evening, Trump posted on his social media site Truth Social that a "highly anticipated meeting" between him and Putin would take place on 15 August in the "great state of Alaska". "Further details to follow," he said. Trump had said the meeting location would be "a very popular one for a number of reasons".