Trump says he will 'try to get some territory back' for Ukraine in Putin summit

ITV News

16 hours ago

Donald Trump said he will "try to get some territory back" for Ukraine during his meeting with Vladimir Putin on Friday.
At a press conference at the White House on Monday Trump spoke at length about his meeting with the Russian leader in Alaska this week.
He said he thought Friday's sit down with Putin in Alaska would be "really a feel-out meeting" adding that 'it'll be good, but it might be bad'.
He expects to determine within minutes of the meeting whether a deal on ending the war in Ukraine can be made.
'At the end of that meeting, probably the first two minutes, I'll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,' he told media.
During the briefing he gave limited details about a deal with Putin but said it could include "some land swapping" with Ukraine, something the country's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vehemently rejected.
On Saturday, Zelenskyy said the swapping of land would compromise Ukraine's territorial integrity, a move seen as forbidden by the country's constitution, as it would require parliamentary approval or a national referendum.
The Ukrainian leader said Putin wanted to 'exchange a pause in the war, in the killing, for the legalisation of the occupation of our land – he wants to get territorial spoils for the second time'.
"We will not allow this second attempt to partition Ukraine. Knowing Russia, where there is a second, there will be a third," Zelenskyy added.
Putin is expected to be unwavering in his demands to keep all the territory his forces now occupy and to prevent Ukraine from joining Nato, with the long-term aid of returning it back to Moscow's sphere of influence.
Trump also ducked questions on whether he would push for Ukraine's president to take part in discussions with Putin, and was particularly dismissive of Zelenskyy and his need to be part of peace negotiations.
The US president spent much of the early part of his administration criticising Zelenskyy and even suggesting he was a dictator because his country had not held an election during the war.
The Ukrainian leader was hounded out if the Oval Office in February by Trump and vice president JD Vance for not being more appreciative of US support.
More recently Trump expressed frustration with Putin that he had not pushed harder for a ceasefire and softened his tone towards Zelenskyy, but his comments on Monday may show another change of heart.
Trump said that after his meeting with Putin, 'The next meeting will be with Zelenskyy and Putin" but it could also be a meeting with 'Putin and Zelenskyy and me.'
He said Russia's president "invited me to get involved" and said he found it "very respectful" that Putin is coming to the US for the meeting in Alaska.
However, Trump's eagerness to reach a deal has raised fears in Europe that discussions could favour Moscow, without sufficient input from Ukraine.
Sir Keir Starmer said on Monday that peace 'must be built with Ukraine, not imposed upon it' and agreed, in a phone call with Canada's prime minister Mark Carney that Ukraine's future 'must be one of freedom, sovereignty and self-determination'.
To that point, Trump said he would call Zelenskyy and European leaders after his discussion with Putin to 'tell them what kind of a deal - I'm not going to make a deal. It's not up to me to make a deal.'
Asked whether Sir Keir believes the Russian president could be trusted in negotiations, the prime minister's official spokesman said he would 'never trust President Putin as far as you could throw him, but we obviously will support Ukraine,' he said.
Meanwhile European leaders said they will prepare by holding a virtual meeting on Ukraine this week.
German officials said the talk, which Trump, Zelenksyy and the Nato chief are invited to, would discuss additional ways to pressure Russia and 'related issues of territorial claims and security.'