United States President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he could invite some European heads to attend a future meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. The possibility was raised during a press conference at the Oval Hall, a day before the meeting with the Russian leader in Alaska.
“(After the meeting at Alaska) We will meet with President Putin, President Zelensky and me, and perhaps we will bring some European leaders, or maybe not. I don’t know,” he said.
The meeting with Putin is scheduled for this Friday (15) in Anchorage, a strategic city in Alaska that houses an American military base, at 16:30 for Brasília time. The dialogue will be the first face to face between the two since 2019, when they met in Osaka, Japan, during Trump’s first term. The Republican said he expects a “good meeting” and made it clear that the next step should be a tripartite meeting, including Zelensky, to try to advance at the end of the war.
In an interview with the radio Fox NewsTrump explained that the direct meeting between Putin and Zelensky will depend on the result of this conversation in Alaska. He estimated “only 25%” the chance that the meeting is not productive and said he believed the Russian leader “wants to reach an agreement.”
On Wednesday (13), Trump had a video conferencing with Zelensky and European authorities, such as the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; the President of the European Council, António Costa; NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte; In addition to national leaders such as German Friedrich Merz and French Emmanuel Macron. The meeting served to hear the positions of allies before the conversation with Putin.
The meeting in Alaska takes place amid Washington pressure on Moscow to suspend attacks on Ukraine. Trump has already signaled that if there is no advances, he could harden sanctions against Russia, which has faced economic restrictions imposed by Western countries since the beginning of the invasion.
