This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to make a deal over the war in Ukraine, US President Donald Trump said on the eve of a summit between the two world leaders in Alaska.
Speaking in an interview on Fox News Radio on August 14, Trump said he believes Putin is “convinced that he’s going to make a deal” at the summit to be held at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson just outside Anchorage, Alaska.
He’s going to make a deal. I think he’s going to, and we’re going to find out,” Trump said.
In Moscow, Putin praised Trump’s efforts to end the war in a short video released by the Kremlin adding the White House was making “quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the hostilities” and to “reach agreements that are of interest to all parties involved.”
Hours before Trump spoke, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in London to discuss security with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“Under any scenario, Ukraine will maintain its strength,” Zelenskyy said following the meeting at 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s residence in central London.
“We discussed in considerable detail the security guarantees that can make peace truly durable,” he added, suggesting such a possibility could arise if the United States succeeds “in pressuring Russia to stop the killings.”
Zelenskyy’s visit to London followed his visit to another European capital, Berlin, on August 13, where he attended a video conference with several major European leaders who feared being sidelined by Trump and Putin.
Trump appeared to try and allay those fears by saying in the Fox News interview that “depending on what happens” during the Putin meeting, he could call Zelenskyy to quickly set up a second meeting involving all three leaders.
“Depending on what happens with my meeting, I’m going to be calling up President Zelenskyy, and let’s get him over to wherever we’re going to meet,” Trump said.
“The second meeting is going to be very, very important, because that’s going to be a meeting where they make a deal. And I don’t want to use the word ‘divvy things up,’ but you know, to a certain extent, it’s not a bad term, OK?” he added.
Zelenskyy has said he warned Trump during an August 13 call that Putin was “bluffing” about his desire to end the war.
Trump has warned Russia of “very severe consequences” if it doesn’t halt its war against Ukraine, but fears remain that the exclusion of Kyiv and Brussels in the talks could sideline their desire for the protection of fundamental European and Ukrainian security interests.
He gave no details on what consequences Moscow could face if it doesn’t put an end to more than 3 1/2 years of war in Ukraine, but he said the aim of the talks, to be held at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson just outside Anchorage, Alaska, is “to end the war.”
Can Trump-Putin Talks Lead To A Cease-Fire?
The talks between Trump and Putin are aimed at finding a path to end the conflict, the biggest in Europe since World War II. Trump has said both sides will have to swap land to end intense fighting that has cost tens of thousands of lives on both sides and displaced millions of Ukrainians.
Appearing to be on the outside looking in ahead of the talks, European leaders and Zelenskyy have been scrambling to make their voices heard.
Washington appears to be preparing Kyiv and Moscow for major compromises to end the war, with US Vice President JD Vance warning any peace deal will likely leave both sides “unhappy.”
But French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump was “very clear” in the August 13 call that he wants to achieve a cease-fire at the summit and that Trump had been clear that “territorial issues relating to Ukraine…will only be negotiated by the Ukrainian president.”
“There are currently no serious territorial exchange schemes on the table…. I think that’s a very important point in this regard. And we hope that it can be held in Europe, in a neutral country that is acceptable to all parties,” he added.
If Trump’s insistence on involving Ukraine is confirmed, it would help ease fears among Ukraine and its allies that leaders of the two superpowers could reach an accord that sells out Europe’s and Ukraine’s security interests and proposes giving Ukrainian territory to Moscow.
“Trump’s thinking is apparently closer aligned with that of the Europeans than first feared by some,” one European official told RFE/RL after the call.
Russia has consistently given the idea of a meeting with Zelenskyy the cold shoulder, suggesting it should only happen once the sides are close to signing a peace deal, not just a cease-fire agreement.
That moment seems far off given the huge gap between the Russian and Ukrainian positions that persists on several major issues, including territory and security, despite three rounds of direct talks in Turkey since mid-May.
The talks come at a pivotal moment, with Trump increasingly frustrated with Putin and the Russian president showing no signs of bending on the Kremlin’s maximalist demands. Trump and Putin have held six phone calls, and the White House’s lead envoy has traveled to Moscow at least three times.
The decision to meet Putin face-to-face — something Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, refused to do following the invasion — reflects Trump’s belief that his relationship with the Russian leader will yield a durable peace agreement.
