Trump warns Putin of 'very severe consequences' if Russia does not halt Ukraine war
Ukraine war: After meeting with Vladimir Putin on Friday, Donald Trump said he would also "seek a future trilateral meeting" involving himself, the Russian President, and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) warned Russia of "very severe consequences" if Vladimir Putin does not agree to stop the war in Ukraine during the summit between the two leaders on August 15 in Alaska.
"Yes. There will be consequences. I don't have to say (on the type of consequences). There will be very severe consequences," he said, addressing reporters at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC.
After meeting with Putin on Friday, Trump said he would also "seek a future trilateral meeting" involving himself, the Russian President, and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy. However, Trump warned that there would be no second meeting if he did not get the answers he wants during the first meeting.
"There is a very good chance that we are going to have a second meeting which will be more productive than the first because the first is where I am going to find out where we are what we are doing," Trump said.
"There may be no second meeting because if I feel that it's not appropriate to have it because I didn't get the answers that we have to have, then we are not going to have a second meeting," he added.
Trump's highly anticipated meet with Putin
Trump's highly anticipated meeting with Putin is scheduled to take place on Friday in Alaska, in which the two leaders will chalk out a plan to end the war in Ukraine that broke out in February 2022. This will be the first in-person meeting between a sitting US President and his Russian counterpart since 2021.
Previously, the White House had stated that it was Putin who reached out to Trump for a meeting to bring an end to the Ukraine war.
Trump speaks to European leaders
Ahead of his meeting with Putin, Trump virtually spoke with European leaders on Wednesday. French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump is "very clear" that he wants to achieve a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. "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," Macron said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, meanwhile, called the meeting constructive, but stressed that "fundamental European and Ukrainian security interests must be protected" during Friday's summit.
The meeting was also attended by Zelenskyy, who said Putin "is trying to apply pressure" on all of Ukrainian sectors. "As if they do not matter to him and are ineffective. In reality, sanctions are very helpful and are hitting Russia's war economy hard," Zelenskyy stressed.
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