President Donald Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Friday’s Alaska summit, with the world watching for a possible breakthrough to end the Ukraine war.
Trump’s push for a ceasefire dominated closed-door meetings with European and Ukrainian leaders throughout the week, culminating in public praise from Putin as America works to reduce hostilities.
“The Trump administration is making quite an energetic and sincere effort, in my opinion, to stop hostilities, to stop the crisis and to reach an agreement that is of interest to all those involved in this conflict,” Putin said, per ABC News.
Trump has been open about his plans to take action if there is no agreement in place soon.
“There will be very severe consequences,” added the President, per CNN.
The Alaska summit begins late Friday morning at Elmendorf-Richardson Air Force Base, where Trump and Putin will first meet one-on-one, followed by a joint press conference.
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said these talks will include negotiations about Ukraine, along with discussions about the “most pressing international and regional issues.”
“An exchange of views is expected on the further development of bilateral cooperation, including in the trade and economic sphere. I note that this cooperation has huge—and unfortunately still untapped—potential,” Ushakov added, according to Newsweek.
European leaders also met with Trump on Wednesday and emphasized that any plan must prioritize a ceasefire and robust security guarantees for Ukraine before territorial concessions or other final issues.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said during a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that there is a “broad agreement” about what Trump should discuss with Putin.
“The strategy is based on supporting Ukraine and putting pressure on Russia. So, if in Alaska there’s no movement on the Russian side, then the U.S. and the Europeans need to increase the pressure,” Merz said, per NPR.
Although there is potential for an agreement to come to fruition at some point during the Alaska Summit, Trump has kept expectations low.
Specifically, Trump said there is no guarantee that he will be able to prevent Putin from targeting civilians, regardless of what the sides agree upon during the meeting.
“I’ve had a lot of good conversations with him. Then I go home and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home, or a rocket hit an apartment building, and people are laying dead in the streets. So, I guess the answer to that is no, because I’ve had this conversation,” Trump said, according to NPR.