United States President Donald Trump spoke on Friday with journalists aboard Air Force One, a government plane that will take him to meet the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Asked about the continuous Russian attacks on Ukraine, the Republican said he believed Putin “is trying to create a scenario” and “this helps him get a better deal.” “Actually, it bothers me and I’m going to talk to him about it.”
Regarding a possible territorial negotiation, Trump indicated that “they will be discussed, but I have to let Ukraine make this decision, and I believe they will make the proper decision.” I am not here to negotiate through Ukraine, “he said.
Another questioning about the possibility of the United States offering safety guarantees to Ukraine, the US president stated that “perhaps, along with Europe and other countries.”
“Not in the form of NATO, because it won’t happen. There are certain things that won’t happen. But, along with Europe, there is this possibility.”
Trump also stressed his threat of “severe” sanctions against Russia if the country shows no willingness to seriously talk about the end of the war that has lasted more than three years.
Meeting in Alaska
Trump and Putin will meet in Anchorage, Alaska, to dialogue over a truce in Ukraine.
“Much is at stake !!!”, wrote the US president on his own social network, social truth, shortly before leaving from Washington to the state of the North, scenario of the first meeting between leaders from both countries since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2022.
Among the employees who accompany Trump are the Secretaries of State, Marco Rubio; Treasury, Scott Bessent; and trade, Howard Lutnick, as well as CIA director John Ratcliffe and his chief of staff, Susie Wiles.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff, who trades Putin in Moscow on behalf of Trump, are also part of the official American delegation.
The meeting will take place today at the Elmendorf-Richardson Military Base in Anchorage, in the American Alaska territory, which was part of Russia until 1867. Military enclave is one of the most important posts to watch and fight Russia in Arctic.
The US President has shown expectations for this first meeting between the two leaders since 2019, after recognizing that obtaining peace in Ukraine “was something harder than he thought” after promising before arriving at the White House in January that would reach her in 24 hours.
Trump hopes now, at least, a ceasefire that opens the doors to a peace agreement with the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
