Trump threatened serious consequences for Russia if the summit fails.

US President Donald Trump reiterated his intention to impose tough economic sanctions against Russia if it fails to demonstrate a willingness to seriously discuss ending the conflict in Ukraine. He told reporters at a briefing aboard Air Force One en route to the summit in Alaska. 

"I'm not doing this for myself, I don't need to. I'd like to focus on my country, but I'm doing this to save a lot of lives," the American president said ( quoted by The Guardian).

The United States will not negotiate on behalf of Ukraine, Trump emphasized. "We will discuss them [the Ukrainians], but I have to let Ukraine make a decision, and I think they will make the right decision. But I'm not here to negotiate on Ukraine's behalf. I'm here to bring them to the negotiating table ," the White House chief noted.

Russia has repeatedly called the sanctions illegal, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said he would allow a meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy under certain conditions, which are "still a long way off."

A summit between the US and Russian presidents will take place on August 15. It is scheduled to begin at 10:00 PM Moscow time (11:00 AM local time). The Russian delegation includes presidential aide Yuri Ushakov and defense, foreign, and finance ministers Andrei Belousov.Sergey Lavrov and AntonSiluanov , as well as the HEAD of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev.

On the American side there will be US Presidential Special Envoy SteveWitkoff , Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA DIRECTOR John Ratcliffe and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.