Trump says stakes 'high' ahead of summit with Putin

RTÉ News​

13 hours ago

US President Donald Trump is headed to Alaska for what he has called a "high stakes" summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin to discuss a ceasefire deal for Ukraine to help end the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not invited to the talks, and his European allies fear Mr Trump might sell out Ukraine by essentially freezing the conflict and recognising -if only informally - Russian control over one fifth of Ukraine.
Mr Trump sought to assuage such concerns as he boarded Air Force One, saying he would let Ukraine decide on any possible territorial swaps. "I'm not here to negotiate for Ukraine, I'm here to get them at a table," he said.
Both the US and Russian presidents, due to meet at a Cold War-era air force base in Alaska's largest city, are seeking wins from their first face-to-face talks since Mr Trump returned to the White House.
Mr Trump, who casts the war as a "bloodbath" fraught with escalatory risk, is pressing for a truce in the war that would bolster his credentials as a global peacemaker worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize.
For Mr Putin, the summit is already a big win as he can use it to say that years of Western attempts to isolate Russia have unravelled and that Moscow has retaken its rightful place at the top table of international diplomacy.
The summit, the first between a US and Russian leader since 2021, is set to start at 11am Alaska time, or 8pm Irish time.
Watch: Trump says peace is possible between Putin and Zelensky
Mr Trump, who once said he would end Russia's war in Ukraine within 24 hours, conceded yesterday it had proven a tougher nut to crack than he thought.
He said that if the talks went well, quickly arranging a second three-way summit with Mr Zelensky would be even more important than his encounter with Mr Putin.
"It's time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America," Mr Zelensky wrote on the Telegram messaging app, adding that the Trump-Putin meeting should open the way for a "just peace" and three-way talks with him included.
Of Mr Putin, Mr Trump said: "He is a smart guy, been doing it for a long time but so have I... We get along, there's a good respect level on both sides." He also welcomed Mr Putin's decision to bring a lot of businesspeople with him to Alaska.
"But they're not doing business until we get the war settled," he said, repeating a threat of "economically severe" consequences for Russia if the summit goes badly.
One source acquainted with Kremlin thinking said there were signs that Moscow could be ready to strike a compromise on Ukraine given that Mr Putin understood Russia's economic vulnerability and costs of continuing the war.
Reuters has previously reported that Mr Putin might be willing to freeze the conflict along the front lines, provided there was a legally binding pledge not to enlarge NATO eastwards and to lift some Western sanctions.
Watch: 'I have no hope' - protesters in Alaska object to summit
Russia, whose war economy is showing signs of strain, is vulnerable to further US sanctions - and Mr Trump has threatened tariffs on buyers of Russian crude, primarily China and India.
"For Putin, economic problems are secondary to goals, but he understands our vulnerability and costs," the Russian source said.
On the eve of the summit, Mr Putin held out the prospect of something else he knows Mr Trump wants - a new nuclear arms control agreement to replace the last surviving one, which is due to expire in February next year.
The source familiar with Kremlin thinking said it looked as if the two sides had been able to find some common ground.
"Apparently, some terms will be agreed upon... because Trump cannot be refused, and we are not in a position to refuse (due to sanctions pressure)," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity.
Mr Putin has so far voiced stringent conditions for a full ceasefire, but one compromise could be a truce in the air war. Mr Putin has said he is open to a ceasefire but has repeatedly said the issues of verification need to be sorted out first.
Mr Zelensky has accused Mr Putin of playing for time to avoid US secondary sanctions and has ruled out formally handing Moscow any territory.
Beyond territory, Ukraine has been clear in talks with Western allies that it needs a security guarantee backed by Washington. It is unclear how that guarantee could work – and what part the US would play in it.
Ukrainians who spoke to Reuters in central Kyiv were not optimistic about the Alaska summit.
"Nothing good will happen there, because war is war, it will not end. The territories - we're not going to give anything to anyone," said Tetiana Harkavenko, a 65-year-old cleaner.