US President Donald Trump said Wednesday, August 13 he was planning a second meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin soon after Friday's Alaska summit – this time with Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky included.
Trump is due to sit down with Putin in Anchorage on Friday, the first meeting between the Russian leader and a sitting US president since 2021. "If the first one goes okay, we'll have a quick second one," he told reporters. "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."
The high-stakes talks come with Trump seeking to broker an end to Russia's nearly three-and-a-half year war in Ukraine. Zelensky and his European allies have urged the Republican to push for a ceasefire. A stepped-up Russian offensive, and the fact Zelensky has not been invited to the Anchorage meeting Friday, have heightened fears that Trump and Putin could strike a deal that forces painful concessions on Ukraine.
Trump said Russia would face "very severe consequences" if Putin did not agree to end the war after Friday's meeting, without elaborating. The US leader promised dozens of times during his 2024 election campaign to end the war on his first day in office, but has made scant progress towards brokering a peace deal. He threatened "secondary sanctions" on Russia's trading partners over its invasion of Ukraine, but his deadline for action came and went last week with no action announced.
Trump told reporters he'd had a "very good call" with European leaders including Zelensky as he took questions from reporters at an arts event at Washington's Kennedy Center. "I would rate it at 10. You know – very, very friendly," he said.
After the call, European leaders also voiced optimism. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X that "today Europe, the US and NATO have strengthened the common ground for Ukraine." "We will remain in close coordination. Nobody wants peace more than us, a just and lasting peace."
NATO head Mark Rutte hailed a "great" call and wrote on X: "Appreciate Trump leadership and close coordination with Allies. The ball is now in Putin's court." German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the talks had been "really constructive" and the leaders had "wished President Trump all the best" with the meeting.