Trump says it will be ‘rough situation' if Putin does not agree peace plan
The US president's comments came as Sir Keir Starmer held talks with members of the 'coalition of the willing', the nations prepared to contribute to guaranteeing Ukraine's security if a deal to end the Russian invasion can be reached.
In a call on Tuesday, members of the group discussed the possibility of further sanctions on Russia, while planners from the nations will meet their US counterparts 'in the coming days', amid efforts to set up 'robust security guarantees', Number 10 said.
The Prime Minister and Mr Zelensky were among European leaders who travelled to Washington on Monday for talks at the White House.
Those discussions have paved the way for a potential meeting between Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin for the first time since the Russian leader invaded his neighbour in 2022.
Mr Trump told Fox News: 'I hope President Putin is going to be good and if he's not, that's going to be a rough situation.
'And I hope that Zelensky, President Zelensky, will do what he has to do. He has to show some flexibility.'
The UK and France have pledged to commit forces to Ukraine to deter Mr Putin from launching a fresh assault on his neighbour if a deal is done to end the war.
Mr Trump said they were 'willing to put people on the ground', and added: 'We're willing to help them with things, especially probably if you could talk about by air, because there's nobody has the kind of stuff we have.'
But he suggested that Mr Putin was unlikely to launch another invasion as he was 'tired of it' after three years of war.
'We are going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks, that I can tell you,' Mr Trump said, acknowledging that it was 'possible he doesn't want to make a deal'.
Sir Keir said work with the US on what the security guarantees would entail could start as soon as Tuesday.
He said there was a 'real significant breakthrough when it comes to security guarantees, because we're now going to be working with the US on those security guarantees'.
Sir Keir told the BBC that teams from both sides of the Atlantic were starting 'the detailed work on that'.
The Prime Minister co-chaired a call on Tuesday morning of the so-called 'coalition of the willing', the group of nations he has been leading with France's President Emmanuel Macron.
Mr Trump spoke directly to Mr Putin to begin planning a meeting between the Russian leader and Mr Zelensky while hosting the gathering on Monday, which will then be followed by a three-way meeting involving himself.
The US president said Moscow will 'accept' multinational efforts to guarantee Ukraine's security.
Mr Zelensky, meanwhile, said he was 'ready' for bilateral and trilateral meetings.
But he told reporters following the White House meeting that if Russia does 'not demonstrate a will to meet, then we will ask the United States to act accordingly'.
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte said the US and Europe would 'do more' on tariffs and sanctions against Russia if the country 'is not playing ball' on direct talks with Ukraine, in comments to Fox News.
Sir Keir described the talks as 'good and constructive' and said there was a 'real sense of unity' between the European leaders, Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky.
He said Mr Trump's plans to arrange the bilateral and trilateral meetings showed a recognition that Ukraine must be involved in talks.
'That is a recognition of the principle that on some of these issues, whether it's territory or the exchange of prisoners, or the very serious issue of the return of children, that is something where Ukraine must be at the table,' the Prime Minister said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Ukraine security talks are ‘road to nowhere' says Lavrov as Nato chiefs meet
Nato defense chiefs held a 'candid discussion' on Wednesday about what security guarantees they could offer Ukraine – as Russia warned that any talks without its participation were a 'road to nowhere'. Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of Nato's Military Committee, said 32 defense chiefs from across the alliance held a video conference amid a diplomatic push to end the fighting. He said there was a 'great, candid discussion' in the call. 'We are united, and that unity was truly tangible today, as always,' he said. Assurances that it won't be invaded again in the future are one of the keys for getting Ukraine to sign up for a peace deal with Russia. It wants Western help for its military, including weapons and training, to shore up its defenses, and Western officials are scrambling to figure out what commitments they might offer. But Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed efforts to work on security arrangements in Ukraine without Moscow's involvement. 'We cannot agree with the fact that it is now proposed to resolve collective security issues without the Russian Federation. This will not work,' he said. He also criticised the role of European leaders who met Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Monday. Lavrov said Russia was in favour of 'truly reliable' guarantees for Ukraine and suggested these could be modelled on a draft accord that was discussed between the warring parties in Istanbul in 2022, in the early weeks of the war. At the time, Kyiv rejected that proposal on the grounds that Moscow would have held effective veto power over any military response to come to its aid. 'I am sure that in the West and above all in the United States they understand perfectly well that seriously discussing security issues without the Russian Federation is a utopia, it's a road to nowhere,' Lavrov said. He accused the European leaders who met Trump and Zelenskiy of carrying out 'a fairly aggressive escalation of the situation, rather clumsy and, in general, unethical attempts to change the position of the Trump administration and the president of the United States personally... We did not hear any constructive ideas from the Europeans there.' Trump said on Monday the United States would help guarantee Ukraine's security in any deal to end Russia's war there. He subsequently said he had ruled out putting US troops on the ground to do so, but Britain said it is readying its own troops to take part in a European 'peace assurance' force. Russia has repeatedly said that it would not accept Nato troops in Ukraine. French president Emmanuel Macron has proposed a trilateral summit in Geneva. Putin's ability to travel abroad is limited because he is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on a warrant dating back to March 2023, but Switzerland intends to ask the ICC to exempt it from sanctions in order to allow Putin in for a summit. Meanwhile, attacks on civilian areas in Sumy and Odesa overnight into Wednesday injured 15 people, including a family with three small children, Ukrainian authorities said. Russian strikes also targeted ports and fuel and energy infrastructure. Poland 's defence minister accused Russia of again provoking Nato countries after an official said an object that landed in a cornfield may have been a Russian drone. 'Once again, we are dealing with a provocation by the Russian Federation, with a Russian drone,' Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said. 'We are dealing in a crucial moment, when discussions about peace are underway.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Russian drone strike sees firefighters battle huge blaze at Ukrainian energy facility
An overnight Russian drone strike caused a huge fire at an energy facility in Odesa, Ukraine on Wednesday (20 August), Volodymyr Zelensky said. Footage shared by the Ukrainian president shows firefighters tackling the massive blaze, whilst emergency service workers appear to help individuals climb down from the wreckage. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine confirmed that one person was injured in the attack. Posting the footage, Mr Zelensky said: 'All of these are demonstrative strikes that only confirm the need to put pressure on Moscow, the need to impose new sanctions and tariffs until diplomacy is fully effective.'
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Lines of control: inside the 22 August Guardian Weekly
Donald Trump had seemed to be firmly back under the sway of Vladimir Putin following their summit in Alaska last Friday. But an intense push by European leaders appeared to coax Trump out of pro-Russian positions on Ukraine and led to a remarkable gathering in Washington on Monday. Have their efforts done enough to give Volodymr Zelenskyy a meaningful role in negotiations? Washington correspondent David Smith reports on the hectic diplomatic efforts. Trump's talk of 'land swaps' between Ukraine and Russia, as a simple transactional path to a peace deal, belies the grim reality of what it would mean for people in Zaporizhzhia. Shaun Walker reports from the Ukrainian frontline city where emotions are running high. Trump's meeting with Putin in Anchorage – where the US president rolled out the red carpet for his Russian counterpart – was widely viewed as a diplomatic triumph for Moscow. International affairs expert Rajan Menon explains why Putin is likely to be delighted with the way events are unfolding. Get the Guardian Weekly delivered to your home address Spotlight | Wildfires leave their mark across Spain and CanadaA near-disaster has highlighted Spain's vulnerability to the climate emergency, while wildfires in Canada are now burning where they never used to. From opposite sides of the Atlantic, Sam Jones, Stephen Burgen and Leyland Cecco report on a rising crisis Technology | Fascination and fear over the rise of the AI deathbotOzzy Osbourne appeared as an AI-generated image at a recent Rod Stewart concert, prompting questions about how the ghoulish phenomenon will affect grieving. Harriet Sherwood reports Feature | Tuvalu dreams of dry landWith sea levels rising, much of the Pacific nation's population is confronting the prospect that their home may soon cease to exist. Where are they going to go? Atul Dev visited the islands to find out Opinion | Remember when having women in power was supposed to change everything?The careers of Nicola Sturgeon, Angela Merkel and Jacinda Ardern show how foolish it is to idealise leaders just for being women, says Gaby Hinsliff Culture | Novelist Douglas Stuart meets painter Jenny SavilleThe Booker prize-winning author of Shuggie Bain sits down with the record-breaking artist to talk early success, bad reviews and the joys of making art British pop star Jade Thirlwall became famous at a young and vulnerable age via reality TV, when tabloid intrusion was rife and social media commentary was cruel. Here, Jade the solo artist talks about how her beginnings in the industry provided material for her maximalist, witty and very catchy debut single and why she'll never shy away from protest. Emily El Nusairi, deputy production editor As a parent living in London, this piece on why the capital's schools outperform the rest of the UK was really interesting to me. I worry that we've made the right choice to bring up our children in central London, and the existence of such inequality across the country is shocking. Dave Kirwan, production director Audio | Ghosting, breadcrumbing, one-night stands: are we done with dating apps? Video | It's complicated: How to solve the global housing crisis Gallery | Pipe dreams: a pipe band's 'world' tour in Northumberland We'd love to hear your thoughts on the magazine: for submissions to our letters page, please email For anything else, it's Facebook Instagram Get the Guardian Weekly magazine delivered to your home address
