President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that Russia would face “very severe consequences” if he determines during Friday’s summit with Vladimir Putin that the Russian leader is still not serious about ending the war with Ukraine.
Trump, who did not specify what those consequences might be, has been reluctant to increase economic sanctions or tariffs on Russia despite his mounting frustration with Putin’s intensifying attacks on Ukrainian cities, civilians and indifference to peace talks.
Lowering expectations that the sit-down with Putin in Alaska would yield a breakthrough, Trump said that he’s hopeful this initial meeting could lead to another that includes Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and, potentially, Trump.
“First, I’ll find out where we are,” Trump said. “If the first [meeting] goes okay, we’ll have a quick second one. I would like to do it almost immediately.”
But, the president cautioned, he won’t pursue a trilateral meeting if he doesn’t think Putin is acting in good faith. “There may be no second meeting because if I feel that it’s not appropriate to have it because I didn’t get the answers that we have to have, then we are not going to have a second meeting,” Trump said.
Trump’s comments came during an appearance at the Kennedy Center and shortly after an hour-long call with European leaders, including Zelenskyy, in preparation for Friday’s summit.
Trump described the call as “very good,” and several European leaders were quick to issue statements about the call Wednesday morning to underscore their alignment. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Trump “largely shares” Europe’s position on peace talks, and French President Emmanuel Macron stated that Trump is indeed pushing for a ceasefire, a top priority for Zelenskyy and NATO.
Putin’s stubborn refusal to entertain Trump’s diplomatic entreaties so far has pushed the president into closer alignment with NATO allies and even Zelenskyy, who he dressed down in the Oval Office less than six months ago.
Friday’s sit-down with Putin, who many analysts believe is likely to try to repair his personal relationship with Trump in a private meeting while convincing him that Ukraine shares the blame for the prolonged conflict, will put the president’s shifting convictions to a serious test.
Even as he sought to put the onus on Putin to demonstrate new seriousness about ending the war, Trump downplayed expectations about his own ability to persuade the Russian president to do so. When asked whether he could convince Putin to “stop targeting civilians in Ukraine,” he demurred.
“I guess the answer to that is probably no,” Trump said.
