President Trump said he’ll know quickly when he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday whether or not it’s possible to make a deal on ending Russia’s war with Ukraine, and said some “changing in land” may be necessary to end the Russian invasion.
“Probably in the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,” Mr. Trump said Monday at a White House news conference. “I’m going to be telling him, you gotta end this war.”
Mr. Trump is scheduled to meet with Mr. Putin in Alaska. The idea is to bring an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022 and has cost tens of thousands of soldiers’ lives and killed many civilians in Ukraine.
“This is really a feel-out meeting, a little bit,” Mr. Trump said. “I believe he wants to get it over with.”
It is unclear what Mr. Trump will get out of the meeting. The president said he wants Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelenskyy to negotiate face-to-face later, with or without him.
Mr. Zelenskyy has rejected talk of ceding territory, but Mr. Trump suggested some give-and-take would be necessary.
“There will be some swapping, there will be some changing in land,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump said he would like to see a ceasefire, at least, and a good deal for all parties.
The president said he wants to hear what Mr. Putin “has in mind” during the meeting. Afterward, Mr. Trump plans to call Mr. Zelenskyy and top European leaders.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has invited Mr. Trump, Mr. Zelenskyy, the NATO secretary general and several European leaders to a virtual meeting Wednesday ahead of the Trump-Putin summit.
The German chancellery said in a statement Monday that the talks would focus on “the current situation in Ukraine with a view to the planned meeting between U.S. President Trump and Russian President Putin.”
It said the talks will focus on “further options for action to put pressure on Russia” as well as “preparations for possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security.”
Europeans and Ukrainians so far have not been invited to the summit on Friday in Alaska.
Mr. Trump said he is upset with Mr. Putin for talking nicely on the phone and then bombing Ukrainian cities. At the same time, he said it is good to maintain cordial relations.
“It’s always good to get along with other countries, if possible,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump repeated his belief he’s been tougher than other presidents on Russia, pointing to his rejection of the NordStream pipeline that took Russian gas to Europe.
Mr. Trump spoke about the summit with Mr. Putin during a news conference about his plan to launch a federal takeover of policing in the District.
He said it is “embarrassing” that he is meeting a major leader days after he took steps to clean up a “dirty and disgusting” capital at home.
At one point, Mr. Trump misspoke, saying he was “going to Russia” instead of Alaska.
— This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.