Trump threatens ‘severe consequences’ if Putin blocks Ukraine peace
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US President Donald Trump has warned of economic sanctions if his meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Aug 15 proves fruitless.
PHOTOS: BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
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- Trump wants a second, quick meeting with Putin and Zelensky if his initial meeting with Putin goes well.
- Trump said Russia will face consequences if Putin doesn't agree to end the war in Ukraine.
- Trump described a call with Putin and Zelensky as "very friendly" and rated it a "10".
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WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump threatened “severe consequences” if Russia’s President Vladimir Putin does not agree to peace in Ukraine, but also said on Aug 13 that a meeting between them could swiftly be followed by a second that would include the leader of Ukraine.
Mr Trump did not specify what the consequences could be, but he has warned of economic sanctions if his meeting with Mr Putin in Alaska on Aug 15
The comments by Mr Trump and the outcome of a virtual conference
However, Russia is likely to resist Ukraine and Europe’s demands strongly and previously has said its stance had not changed since it was first detailed by Mr Putin in June 2024.
When asked if Russia would face any consequences if Mr Putin does not agree to stop the war after the Aug 15 meeting, Mr Trump responded: “Yes, they will.”
Asked if those consequences would be sanctions or tariffs, Mr Trump told reporters: “I don’t have to say. There will be very severe consequences.”
But the President also described the aim of the meeting between the two leaders in Alaska as “setting the table” for a quick follow-up that would include Mr Zelensky.
“If the first one goes okay, we’ll have a quick second one,” Mr Trump said.
“I would like to do it almost immediately, and we’ll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky and myself, if they’d like to have me there.”
Mr Trump did not provide a timeframe for a second meeting.
Red lines
European leaders and Mr Zelensky had earlier spoken with Mr Trump in a last-ditch call hosted by Germany to lay out red lines ahead of the Alaska meeting.
“We had a very good call. He was on the call. President Zelensky was on the call. I would rate it a 10, very friendly,” Mr Trump said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Mr Trump agreed Ukraine must be involved in any discussions about ceding land, while Mr Zelensky said Mr Trump had supported the idea of security guarantees in a post-war settlement.
“President Trump was very clear that the United States wanted to achieve a ceasefire at this meeting in Alaska,” Mr Macron said.
“The second point on which things were very clear, as expressed by President Trump, is that territories belonging to Ukraine cannot be negotiated and will only be negotiated by the Ukrainian President.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who hosted the virtual meeting, said the principle that borders could not be changed by force must continue to apply.
“If there is no movement on the Russian side in Alaska, then the United States and we Europeans should... increase the pressure,” he said.
“President Trump knows this position. He shares it very extensively and therefore I can say: We have had a really exceptionally constructive and good conversation with each other.”
Mr Trump and Mr Putin are due to discuss how to end the 3½-year-old conflict, the largest in Europe since World War II. Mr Trump has previously said both sides will have to swop land to end fighting that has cost tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions.
Sharp advance
On a day of intense diplomacy, Mr Zelensky flew to Berlin for the virtual conferences with European leaders and then with Mr Trump.
He and the Europeans worry that a land swop could leave Russia with almost a fifth of Ukraine, rewarding it for nearly 11 years of efforts to seize Ukrainian land – the last three in all-out war – and embolden Mr Putin to expand farther west.
Russian forces have made a sharp thrust into eastern Ukraine
Mr Zelensky said: “I told the US President and all our European colleagues that Putin is bluffing (about his stated wish to end the war). He is trying to apply pressure before the meeting in Alaska along all parts of the Ukrainian front. Russia is trying to show that it can occupy all of Ukraine.”
A source familiar with the matter said the call with Mr Trump discussed possible cities that could host a three-way meeting, depending on the outcome of the talks in Alaska.
Wary of angering Mr Trump, European leaders have repeatedly said they welcome his efforts, while stressing that there should be no deal without Ukraine’s participation.
Mr Trump’s agreement last week to the summit was an abrupt shift after weeks of voicing frustration with Mr Putin for resisting the US peace initiative. Mr Trump said his envoy, Mr Steve Witkoff, had made “great progress” at talks in Moscow.
A Gallup poll released last week found that 69 per cent of Ukrainians favour a negotiated end to the war as soon as possible. But polls also indicate Ukrainians do not want peace at any cost if that means significant concessions.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexei Fadeev earlier said Moscow’s stance had not changed since 2024.
As conditions for a ceasefire and the start of talks, Mr Putin had demanded that Ukraine withdraw its forces from four regions that Russia has claimed as its own but does not fully control, and formally renounce plans to join Nato.
Kyiv swiftly rejected the conditions as tantamount to surrender. REUTERS
