US President comments on meeting with Russian counterpart

During an interview on Fox News Radio's The Brian Kilmeade Show, President Trump was asked if there was any scenario in which his August 15 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska could be considered a failure.

The US leader answered “Yes” and estimated that the meeting with his Russian counterpart Putin in Alaska had a “25% chance of being a total failure”, but he also hoped to push for a meeting between President Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky.

According to Newsweek, the two leaders of the United States and Russia are expected to meet in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15. This important meeting comes about three and a half years after Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine - a war that Mr. Trump pledged to end on his first day in office.

Mr Trump has warned that if Russia does not come to the table to end the fighting, it will face serious consequences, possibly economic ones. In recent months, the US administration has praised a series of peace agreements and negotiations that Washington has contributed to in many parts of the world during the first six months of President Trump's term.

Speaking on August 14, President Trump explained that this meeting with President Putin was intended to pave the way for the next meeting, possibly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "So we'll call President Zelensky, if it's a good meeting. If it's a bad meeting, I'm not going to call anybody, I'm going home."

He also said he would call European leaders. However, he said he would hold a press conference regardless of whether the meeting went well or badly.

In an interview on August 14, Mr. Trump told host Brian Kilmeade that his talks with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were “like a game of chess.” “This meeting is to prepare for the second meeting,” Mr. Trump stressed. He said the second meeting would be “extremely important” and hinted at the possibility of negotiations involving a territorial exchange — something President Zelensky has firmly opposed.

President Trump said he believes he will quickly find out on August 15 whether President Putin intends to cooperate.

“I think he’s convinced now that he’s going to make a deal. He’s going to make a deal. I think he’s going to. And we’ll find out — I’ll find out very quickly,” Trump said.

Mr. Trump also said that he would impose a series of sanctions on Russia if Mr. Putin did not negotiate peace. “There will be consequences. I don’t need to say. There will be very serious consequences,” Mr. Trump told reporters on August 13.

On Russia's side, President Putin commented on August 14 that the US "is making strong and sincere efforts... to end hostilities, end the crisis and reach agreements that benefit all parties involved in this conflict."

Meanwhile, on August 13, President Zelensky was cautious about expectations for the meeting, saying he saw no “signs” that Russia wanted to end the war in Ukraine.

“At the moment, there are no signs that Russia is preparing to end the war. The coordinated efforts and joint actions of Ukraine, the United States, Europe and all countries that want peace can definitely force Russia to accept peace,” Zelensky wrote on the social network X.