United States President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin will make a deal on his war on Ukraine and that the threat of sanctions against Russia likely played a role in Moscow’s decision to seek a meeting. Trump is scheduled to meet with Putin in Alaska tomorrow. The US president said he is unsure whether an immediate ceasefire can be achieved, but expressed interest in brokering a peace agreement. “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,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News Radio’s ‘The Brian Kilmeade Show’. Trump also mentioned during the Fox interview that he has three locations in mind for a follow-up meeting with Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, though he noted that a second meeting is not guaranteed. He said staying in Alaska for a three-way summit would be the easiest scenario. “Depending on what happens with my meeting, I’m going to be c...
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that if his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin goes well, he would like to have a quick second meeting with Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and himself. “If the first one goes okay, we’ll have a quick second one,” Trump told reporters. “I would like to do it almost immediately, and […]
United States President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that if his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin goes well, he would like to have a quick second meeting between Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and himself. “If the first one goes okay, we’ll have a quick second one,” Trump told reporters. “I would like to do it almost immediately, and we’ll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky and myself, if they’d like to have me there.” Trump did not provide a timeframe for a second meeting. He is to meet Putin in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday. Trump also said Russia would face consequences if Putin did not agree to stop the war. “Yes, they will,” he said. He did not spell out the consequences, but he has warned of stiff economic sanctions if no breakthrough can be achieved. Trump spoke after holding talks via telephone with European leaders and Zelenskiy about his meeting with Putin. “We had a very good call. He was on the call. President Zelensky was on the ...
United States envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Wednesday, two days before the expiry of a deadline set by US President Donald Trump for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions. Witkoff flew to Moscow on a last-minute mission to seek a breakthrough in the three-and-a-half-year war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Russian state TV showed a brief clip of him shaking hands with Putin at the start of their meeting. Russian news agencies said the talks ended after about three hours, and Witkoff’s motor convoy was seen leaving the Kremlin. Russian investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who earlier greeted Witkoff on arrival and strolled with him in a park near the Kremlin, posted on social media: “Dialogue will prevail.” There was no immediate statement from either side on the substance of the talks. Later, Trump called the meeting “highly productive” in a post on Truth Social. “Great progress was made!” the US president wrote. “...
President Vladimir Putin intends to keep fighting in Ukraine until the West engages on his terms for peace, unfazed by Donald Trump’s threats of tougher sanctions, and his territorial demands may widen as Russian forces advance, three sources close to the Kremlin said. Putin, who ordered Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting in the country’s east between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops, believes Russia’s economy and its military are strong enough to weather any additional Western measures, the sources said. Trump on Monday expressed frustration with Putin’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire and announced a wave of weapons supplies to Ukraine, including Patriot surface-to-air missile systems. He also threatened further sanctions on Russia unless a peace deal was reached within 50 days. The three Russian sources, familiar with top-level Kremlin thinking, said Putin will not stop the war under pressure from the West and believes Russia — which has survived the t...