WASHINGTON/ANCHORAGE: President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned Russia of “very severe consequences” if it does not agree to halt its war in Ukraine during his upcoming summit with President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
The US President gave the warning after answering a reporter’s question at the Kennedy Centre ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15.
Trump added that he would pitch for a second meeting which would include Zelensky. “If the first one goes okay, we’ll have a quick second one. 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,” said Trump.
He, however, said this second meeting would not take place if he did not hear the answers he wanted.
Trump, speaking after a virtual meeting with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, did not spell out the punitive measures but hinted they could include tariffs or sanctions. The warning comes two days ahead of the August 15 talks in Anchorage, their first in the US since 1988.
European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed that Ukraine must be part of any peace arrangement and reaffirmed security and financial backing for Kyiv. Zelenskyy, in the call, said Putin was “bluffing” about peace intentions.
The Anchorage meeting follows months of intensified fighting in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces continue to hold battlefield advantages despite Western condemnation. Trump’s remarks signal a more assertive U.S. stance, though details of the threatened measures remain unclear.
