Alaska meeting, Ukraine conflict and trade with Russia: key takeaways from Trump's Q&A
The content of the meeting would then be shared with the EU, NATO and Kiev, Trump said, adding that he would particularly inform them about Moscow's proposals if he believes they could be translated into a 'fair deal.' According to the US president, the settlement of the Ukraine conflict is bound to involve some 'land swapping.' The president also said that he still sees great potential in trade with Russia, which 'has a very valuable piece of land.'
Here are the highlights of the Q&A session:
According to Trump, he expects the Friday summit with Putin in Alaska to be a 'feel-out meeting' that would help him understand Moscow's intentions better. The American president stated that he believes Russia wants to engage with Washington and 'get it over with' when it comes to the Ukraine conflict.
He also welcomed the fact that Moscow agreed to hold the summit in a US state. 'I thought it was very respectful that the President of Russia is coming to our country, as opposed to us going to his country, or even [to] a third-party place,' Trump said, adding that he believes he and Putin 'will have constructive conversations.'
According to Trump, the meeting with Putin will help him understand whether there is a way to settle the Ukraine conflict. 'We're going to see what the parameters [of a potential settlement] are,' the president said, vowing to share the contents of the discussion with the EU and NATO leaders as well as with Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky.
'I'd like to see the best deal that can be made for both parties,' Trump stated, adding that he would also like to see a ceasefire between the two sides as soon as possible. He still admitted that there is a chance the meeting could end up in a failure and he would just 'leave and say: good luck.'
A potential solution to the Ukraine conflict is bound to involve some exchange of territories between Russia and Ukraine, the US president believes. 'There will be some land swapping going on,' he told journalists.
Trump also criticized Kiev's approach to settling territorial disputes with Moscow. According to the president he was 'bothered' by Zelensky telling him about the need of 'constitutional approval' for any changes on the ground. 'He got the approval to go into war, kill everybody,' the US president said.
When asked why the Ukrainian leader was not invited for the Friday summit, Trump said Zelensky 'wasn't a part of it.' The president also pointed to the fact that the Ukrainian leader 'has been there for three and a half years' and had gone 'to a lot of meetings' but 'nothing happened.'
When asked if he still believes the US could still do some 'normal trade' with Russia, Trump replied: 'I do.' He went on to say that Russia 'has a very valuable piece of land' and could benefit from it if Putin 'would go toward business.' He also described Russia as a 'massive country' that has a 'tremendous potential … to do well.'
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