U.S. President Donald Trump said he will work to restore some of Ukraine’s territory when he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
“Russia has occupied a large part of Ukraine. They have occupied major territories. We will work to bring back some of Ukraine’s territory,” he said at a press conference at the White House.
He and the Russian president will hold talks in Alaska this weekend. Trump claims he can know if there is a possibility of progress within two minutes of meeting Putin.
Friday will be a “feeling meeting” aimed at urging Putin to end the war – suggesting he might see the summit as an initial encounter.
Trump once again warned that there will be “exchange, land changes” between Russia and Ukraine.
It is not his first time using the term “land sales”, although it is unclear which land Russia can ced to Ukraine. Kyiv has never made any claim on any Russian territory.
Trump said he would update to European leaders if Putin proposed a “reasonable deal” in the talks, adding that he would first talk to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
He said: “I call him first…I call him afterwards and I might say, ‘A lot of luck, keep fighting’ or I might say, ‘We can make an agreement’.
Trump also said when he “has been with Zelensky” he “she doesn’t agree with anything very much [the Ukrainian president] Have done it.” Trump had previously blamed Zelensky for Ukraine’s war, triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
He said future meetings may include Zelensky, and may be meetings in three aspects, including himself and Putin.
European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas told BBC Putin that in his talks with Trump “refer to old-fashioned ways…let us divide our territory and influence”.
But she stressed that Europe has become clear that it will not accept deals that Ukraine has not yet agreed to.
“If Ukraine is not part of the deal, then no transaction will be implemented, and that’s why Ukraine needs to surround the table,” she said.
The Kremlin has been expecting a meeting with Zelensky, and Putin recently reiterated the conditions for a meeting with the Ukrainian president.
Trump announced a meeting with Putin last Friday – a deadline for Russia’s self-imposed implementation, agreeing to a ceasefire may face more U.S. sanctions.
Zelensky responded to news from the Alaska summit that any agreement without Kiev’s opinion is equivalent to a “dead decision.”
On Monday, he listed a report from Ukrainian intelligence agencies that said Russia was not ready to end the fight in Ukraine.
Zelensky is expected to attend a virtual meeting with Trump, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and EU leaders on Wednesday.
A spokesman for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he invited leaders and EU and NATO chiefs to discuss how to put pressure on Moscow before Trump meets with Putin.
A Downing Street spokesman said on Monday’s call, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney agreed that “a peace agreement must be established with Ukraine – not imposed on it”.
They added that the two leaders will “continue” to work with Trump and Zelensky in the coming days.
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