Two days after saying that the summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska this Friday would be “exploratory” and that no agreement would be reached, Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that “there will be severe consequences” if the Russian president does not accept a ceasefire in Ukraine.
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During this day, Trump had a phone conversation with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, in an instance led by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and where also participated Vice President JD Vance; the President of France, Emmanuel Macron; the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, and other European leaders close to the American president, such as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
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“It was a very good conversation. I would rate it a 10, very friendly,” said Trump.
Why is Trump now threatening Putin?
The President of the United States described as “severe” the consequences that Russia would face if Putin does not accept a ceasefire in the Ukraine War after the summit this Friday at a military base in Anchorage, Alaska.
However, when asked by journalists at the Kennedy Center in Washington if he could convince the Russian president to stop bombing Ukrainian civilians, Trump replied that he could not.
“I have had many interesting conversations with him, and then I come home and see a rocket hitting a nursing home, or a rocket hitting an apartment building and people lying dead in the streets,” commented the American president.
Trump also commented that he hopes there will be a second meeting with Putin and that the president of Ukraine can participate in it. “If the first one goes well, we will have a second meeting quickly. I would like to do it almost immediately,” said the Republican president.
However, Trump emphasized that this second meeting may not take place if they do not “get the answers” he desires.
Conversation between Trump and Zelensky
In Trump’s conversation with Zelensky and European leaders, they agreed on a total of five priorities leading up to the meeting between Putin and Trump in Alaska, including a ceasefire as a starting point, ensuring that the Ukrainian president is not left out of the table in future meetings, and that the discussions are part of a broader transatlantic strategy.
“The legal recognition of the Russian occupation is out of the question. The principle that borders should not be changed by force remains valid,” said the German chancellor, adding that “strong and solid security guarantees” are also necessary for Kiev to be able to repel any future Russian aggression.
Zelensky, who met with Merz in Berlin, was much tougher and commented that “I told the President of the United States and all our European partners that Putin is lying. He is trying to put pressure on all fronts of the Ukrainian front before the meeting in Alaska. Russia is trying to show that it is possible to occupy the whole of Ukraine. Undoubtedly, that is his desire.”.
The president of Ukraine pushed for more sanctions against Russia and stated that “Putin boasts saying that sanctions don’t bother him and don’t work,” but Zelensky affirmed that “sanctions help a lot.”