The US president also hinted that he would push for a second summit if his meeting with Putin and Zelensky goes well.
Vladimir Putin will face “very serious consequences” if he does not agree to a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine at a summit with Donald Trump in Alaska, the US president said on Wednesday.
Speaking after a phone call with Vladimir Zelensky and other European leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump also said he would push for a second summit if his meeting with Putin goes well – this time involving his Ukrainian counterpart.
“If the first meeting goes well, we will quickly hold a second meeting,” Trump told reporters in Washington. “I’d like to do it almost immediately, and we’ll have a second meeting between President Putin, President Zelensky and myself if they want me there.”
Trump did not give a timeline for the second meeting. He is scheduled to meet with Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday.
Asked if Russia would face consequences if Putin did not agree to end the war after the Alaska meeting, Trump said, “Yes, it would…with very serious consequences.”
The president spoke out after having what he said was a very good phone conversation with European leaders in which he consulted with them on the goals and strategy of his summit. He pleased European leaders by assuring them that his priority was a ceasefire and that he would not make territorial concessions without Kiev’s full participation.
Trump’s videoconference approach, as described by French President Emmanuel Macron, seemed to reassure some leaders who last time collectively urged the unpredictable US president that he had a duty to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty – and European security – at the Alaska talks.
European leaders held a hastily convened hour-long meeting with Trump and his vice president, J.D. Vance, to shape Trump’s negotiating strategy. Zelensky and European leaders were excluded from the Alaska summit and fear that Trump, who intends to fulfil his campaign promise to easily end the bloodshed in Ukraine, will make concessions that would jeopardise Ukraine’s future sovereignty.
However, Trump emphasised his pledge that the summit was not a substantive negotiation, but merely a “probe” to test Putin’s conditions for signing a temporary truce that would then lead to talks with the Ukrainians. Trump said it was a very good conversation, adding that he rates it a 10 out of 10.
The European intervention included a group of European leaders and Zelensky, who discussed US negotiating strategy with Trump and Vance.
Afterwards, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasised that Europe wants Trump to succeed in Alaska, but made it clear to the US president that the interests of Ukraine and Europe must be protected at the summit.
Merz, speaking at a press conference in Berlin with Zelensky, said the correct chronology of events is a 30-day ceasefire followed by substantial negotiations. Putin has been resisting a ceasefire for months.
Outlining the key principles that unite Europe, he said: The principle that borders cannot be changed by force should still apply.
Negotiations must include credible security guarantees for Kiev. Ukrainian armed forces must be able and remain able to effectively defend their country’s sovereignty. They must also be able to count on Western assistance in the long term.
“The negotiations must be part of an overall transatlantic strategy. Then they will have the best chance of success. This strategy must remain based on strong support for Ukraine and the necessary pressure on Russia. It also means that if there is no move on Alaska from the Russian side, the United States and we Europeans must … increase the pressure.”
He added that Russia could not have any legal rights to Ukrainian territory.
“President Trump knows this position, he shares it completely, and that’s why I can say: we had a really exceptionally constructive and good conversation”.
Macron said there had been no serious discussions about a territory swap between Russia and Ukraine involving the ceding of Ukrainian territory, and Trump emphasised in any case that any such discussions could only take place with Kiev. He said Trump would fight for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the US and Russia and that such a meeting would take place in Europe.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the ball was now on Russia’s side to decide whether it wanted a ceasefire and added that the transatlantic alliance was united.
One European diplomat said: “overall the meeting was encouraging in the sense that our positions were heard, but the question remains whether Trump will stick to the agreed script when he meets Putin”