ANKARA / ISTANBUL

US Vice President JD Vance will meet with senior Ukrainian and European officials while in the UK to “establish common ground” ahead of an Aug. 15 meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, online outlet Axios reported.

According to the report, officials said that following Putin's meeting with Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff last Wednesday in Moscow, Trump had a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and some European leaders.

Witkoff, who was apparently included in the call, reportedly told participants that Putin had agreed to end the war if Ukraine agreed to cede the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions as well as Crimea, which Russia took in 2014.

A Ukrainian official said that even if Zelenskyy agreed to Putin's demands, a referendum would be necessary because under the Ukrainian Constitution Ukraine cannot cede its territory.

To date Zelenskyy has ruled out making territorial concessions to end the war, which began in February 2022.