President Trump Thursday stated he has excessive hopes of constructing progress to a Ukraine peace deal at a Friday afternoon summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Alaska, however admitted there’s a 1 in 4 likelihood of a “bad meeting.”
“There is a 25% chance that this meeting will not be a successful meeting in which case I’ll return to run the country,” he stated in a radio interview.
“If it’s a bad meeting, I’m not calling anybody. I’m going home,” Trump added. “But if it’s a good meeting, I’m going to call (Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy) and the European leaders.”
Trump stated his primary objectives shall be to persuade Putin to comply with a ceasefire and to pave the best way to a three-man summit with Zelenskyy, which he teased may happen very quickly after the Anchorage sit-down and would possibly even additionally happen in Alaska.
An indication marks the doorway to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are anticipated to satisfy on the U.S. navy base on Friday. (AP Picture/Mark Thiessen)
Trump’s remarks got here after Putin praised his counterpart for “energetic and sincere” efforts to finish the struggle in Ukraine.
With either side in search of to spin expectations forward of the Anchorage sit-down, Putin gathered a bunch of high advisers to the Kremlin to hail the probabilities of a breakthrough on Ukraine and a bunch of different points.
“The (Trump) administration is making, in my opinion, quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the fighting, stop the crisis and reach agreements that are of interest to all parties involved in this conflict,” Putin stated.
The summit is scheduled to kick off at 11:30 am Anchorage time, which is 3:30 pm in New York.
The 2 leaders plan to carry a joint press convention after the assembly in addition to a lunch with the 2 nations’ delegations.
It’s the primary assembly between Putin and an American president since he launched his invasion of neighboring Ukraine in 2022, and the primary time he and Trump have met since 2019.
Whilst he talked up the probabilities of progress, Putin has not even hinted at any retreat from his hardline calls for, equivalent to gobbling up 4 Ukrainian provinces, together with land it hasn’t but seized on the battlefield.
He sought to dangle the potential for progress on nuclear weapons and financial points, which he might use an enticement to get Trump to make additional concessions on Ukraine.
The Kremlin strongman stated he hoped the “huge, and unfortunately hitherto untapped, potential” of expanded financial ties between the U.S. and Russia can be on the agenda together with Ukraine.
Putin desires to finish Russia’s exile from the Western monetary system following financial sanctions imposed by Washington, the European Union and others. Trump has not but lifted these punishments however says he desires to finish Russia’s financial pariah standing.
President Donald Trump (R) and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin speak as they make their technique to take the “family photo” through the Asia-Pacific Financial Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ summit within the central Vietnamese metropolis of Danang on November 11, 2017. (Picture by JORGE SILVA/POOL/AFP by way of Getty Pictures)
Trump stated Wednesday that there shall be “severe consequences” if Putin doesn’t agree to finish the struggle on the summit, however refused to elaborate.
He’s moved forward with “secondary sanctions” towards India for getting Russian oil however has put threatened measures towards different Moscow buying and selling companions on maintain not less than till after the Anchorage assembly.
The choice to grant Putin the face-to-face assembly with Trump is controversial with administration critics and Western allies, who worry the wily Kremlin strongman will use his expertise as a grasp manipulator to bamboozle Trump.
Ukraine and European allies are nervous about being left utterly out of the assembly, although Trump has vowed he received’t cave on key points like surrendering land for peace and says he desires to dealer a follow-up summit together with Zelenskyy.
U.Okay. Prime Minister Keir Starmer embraced Zelenskyy in London on Thursday in a present of British help for the embattled ally and aides stated they mentioned safety ensures for Kyiv in any attainable peace deal.
Initially Printed: August 14, 2025 at 9:24 AM EDT
