U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, August 13, that he hopes to hold a three-way meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately after his upcoming Alaska summit with Putin, as part of efforts to end the three-year war in Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters, Trump described his earlier call with European leaders, including Zelensky, as “very good,” despite reports that Russian forces had made their largest territorial gain in Ukraine in more than a year.
“If the first one goes okay, we’ll have a quick second one,” Trump said of his planned Friday face-to-face with Putin in Anchorage. “I’d like to do it almost immediately — a quick meeting between President Putin, President Zelensky, and myself, if they’d like me there.”
The Alaska talks are seen as a key test of Trump’s campaign promise to broker peace in Ukraine. European allies and Zelensky are urging him to push for a ceasefire, though concerns remain that any Trump-Putin deal could come at Ukraine’s expense, especially as Zelensky was not invited to the Anchorage summit.
Trump cautioned that the follow-up meeting would not go ahead if Putin appeared unwilling to engage in good faith. “If I feel it’s not appropriate because I didn’t get the answers we have to have, then we’re not going to have a second meeting,” he warned.
According to AFP analysis, Russian forces on Tuesday seized about 110 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory — their largest single-day advance in over a year.
Earlier in the day, Zelensky, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, other European leaders, and NATO and EU chiefs joined Trump in a joint call. Leaders agreed on the need for a ceasefire, with Trump warning Moscow of “severe consequences” if it refused. Still, Zelensky voiced skepticism, saying, “Putin definitely does not want peace.”
While Trump described the Alaska summit as “a feel-out meeting,” he hinted at the possibility of land swaps in a future settlement. Merz said Ukraine was ready to negotiate on territorial issues but stressed that recognizing Russian-occupied areas “would not be up for debate.”
On the ground, Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine is gaining momentum. Ukrainian troops near Kramatorsk expressed doubts about the prospect of peace.
“Putin is massing an army, stockpiling weapons, and pulling the wool over our eyes,” said Artem, a 30-year-old serviceman. “This war will likely continue for a long time.”
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