Washington, Aug 14 (UNI) US President Donald Trump has said the Friday summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska could pave the way for a second round of talks — potentially involving Ukrainian Prez Volodymyr Zelensky — though there is admittedly a “25% chance that this meeting will not be successful”.
Speaking to Fox Radio, Trump compared the encounter to “a chess game,” suggesting that any settlement between Moscow and Kyiv would inevitably be give and take” situation, when concerning the boundaries between the two nations, reports BBC.
“This meeting sets up the second meeting. The second meeting is going to be very, very important, because that’s going to be a meeting where they make a deal,” Trump said.
The statement comes amid Zelensky’s refusal to accept any territorial swap, stating that Ukraine “will not give land to the occupier” and warnings that surrendering the eastern Donbas region would lead to “another war”, destabilising the region further.
US officials have said a plan floated by Putin to halt the war includes substantial territorial concessions by Kyiv — a proposal Zelensky has publicly rejected.
Earlier, commenting on the meeting, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will exhaust all options “to try and bring this war to a peaceful resolution”, and that the discussions between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will consist of a one-on-one meeting, a bilateral lunch with both delegations, and a news conference.
“What comes after that meeting is up to President Trump,” she said, adding that the POTUS has “plenty of tools at his disposal,” but would rather end this diplomatically.
“There are sanctions and many other measures that the President can use if he has to.”
Trump has also expressed openness to hitting Russia with additional sanctions if the meeting doesn’t end well, though he believes Putin will agree to a deal.
“I believe now he’s convinced that he’s going to make a deal. He’s going to make a deal. I think he’s going to. And we’re going to find out — I’m going to know very quickly,”
He offered an ultimatum to the situation, saying “If it’s a bad meeting, I’m not calling anybody — I’m going home. … But if it’s a good meeting, I’m going to call President Zelensky and the European leaders.”
