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President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that Russia would face "very serious consequences" if he is convinced during Friday's meeting 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 growing frustration with Putin's intensifying attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilians and indifference to peace talks.
Lowering expectations that the meeting with Putin in Alaska would yield a breakthrough, Trump said he hopes this initial meeting could lead to another involving Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and of course the US president himself.
"First, I'm going to find out where we are," Trump said, adding, "if the first meeting goes well, we'll have a quick second one. I'd like to do it almost immediately."
But, the president warned, he would not pursue a trilateral meeting unless he felt Putin was acting in good faith. “There may not be a second meeting because if I think it’s not appropriate to have it, because I didn’t get the answers that we should have, then we won’t have a second meeting,” Trump said.
Trump's comments came during an appearance at the Kennedy Center and immediately after an hour-long phone call with European leaders, including Zelensky, in preparation for Friday's summit.
Trump described the phone call as “very good,” and several European leaders rushed to issue statements about the conversation Wednesday morning to emphasize their unity. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Trump “largely shares” Europe’s position on peace talks, and French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump is really pushing for a ceasefire, a top priority for Zelenskyy and NATO.
Putin's stubborn refusal to accept Trump's diplomatic pleas so far has pushed the president toward closer rapprochement with NATO allies and even Zelensky.
Friday's meeting with Putin, who many analysts believe is likely to try to repair his personal relationship with Trump in a private meeting by convincing him that Ukraine is responsible for the protracted conflict, will put the president's shifting convictions to a serious test.
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