Trump threatens Russia with severe consequences if Alaska talks fail
Putin and US President Donald Trump are meeting in Alaska tomorrow (August 15) to discuss peace in Ukraine. The meeting at 1 am IST at a military base, will be held without the Ukrainian President who has warned that there cannot be any peace in his country if he is not included in the talks. However, the US President said Zelenskyy can be part of the subsequent talks process depending upon the outcome of the Alaska meeting.
'Putin is bluffing,'' Zelenskyy said after a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin. ''He (Putin) is trying to exert pressure ahead of the meeting in Alaska on all sectors of the Ukrainian front. Russia is attempting to portray itself as capable of occupying all of Ukraine. That is undoubtedly what they want,'' Zelenskyy said.
The US President also warned Russia of serious consequences if in the Alaska talks Putin does not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine, implying that sanctions against Russia would be tightened.
Meanwhile, the US warned of increasing secondary tariffs against India depending upon the outcome of the Alaska meeting.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in an interview with Bloomberg TV, said the decision would depend on the outcome of the Alaska meeting. He also asked the Europeans to join the US in sanctions against Russia.
"We've put secondary tariffs on Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could see, If things don't go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up," Bessent said in the interview yesterday.
'It looks like he may be ready to negotiate and we put secondary tariffs on India, on the Indians, for buying Russian oil. And I could see if things don't go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up,' he said.
Asked what about China who are the 'main purchasers of Russian crude,' Bessent said he is not going to get ahead of the President (Trump) but the President is best at 'creating leverage for himself.'
President Trump will make it clear to President Putin that all options are on the table and 'sanctions can go up or they can also be loosened.'
'They can have a definitive life. They can go in indefinitely,' he said.
Zelenskyy said Putin is also bluffing when pretending that sanctions are ineffective and not important to him. In reality, sanctions are extremely helpful and hit the Russian war economy hard. Russia indeed has several times more weapons – including artillery, three times as much. But it also suffers three times as many losses.
He said Putin has no intention of making peace. ''He wants to occupy our country. And we all truly understand this. Putin will not be able to deceive anyone,'' he said while calling for sanctions against Russia by US and Europe.
President Zelenskyy participated in the sixth meeting of the 'Coalition of the Willing', co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin yesterday. The meeting was also attended by U.S. Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg.
The participants agreed that the path to peace cannot be determined without Ukraine. Until Russia agrees to a ceasefire, partners will continue active diplomatic efforts, support for Ukraine and pressure on Russia.
The participants also agreed that negotiations can only yield results if they are held under a ceasefire and if Russia does not agree to this step during the meeting in Alaska, sanctions against Russia's war economy will be strengthened.
'Coalition of the Willing' is a rhetorical term coined in early 1970s referring to a temporary international partnership created for achieving a particular objective, usually military or political nature. On March 2, the British Prime Minister said after a Summit meeting in London between 18 European leaders that the UK would work with France and other European countries to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, with a long-term goal of some peace agreement with Russia.
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