US President Donald Trump has said he plans to discuss the issue of Ukrainian territories with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Alaska on Friday.
No future for Ukraine in NATO
At the same time, Trump believes that the decision on this matter should be made by Kyiv. “I’m not going to negotiate on behalf of Kyiv, I’m here to get everyone around the table,” the US leader said.
The US president also threatened that Russia would face “severe economic consequences” if the Alaska summit did not bring progress on the Ukrainian issue.
Speaking about the economic component of the negotiations, Trump noted that the Russian delegation includes “many business people.”
“That’s good, I like that, because they want to do business, but we won’t do business until we resolve the conflict,” the American president said. He emphasised that he sees interest on Moscow’s part in the economic potential of the US.
According to Trump, he hopes that “something will come out” of the Alaska summit.
Trump also noted that Ukraine will not be granted NATO membership. At the same time, he allowed for the possibility of the US and European countries providing security guarantees to Kyiv.
“Possibly. Together with Europe and other countries… But not in the form of NATO,” Trump said in response to a question from journalists about whether the US would provide security guarantees to Kyiv.
“HIGH STAKES!!!” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social ahead of the summit in Alaska.
US president will personally meet Vladimir Putin
Trump also said that his counterpart in the negotiations, Vladimir Putin, is “a smart man” and that there is “a good level of respect” on both sides.
“The president will arrive at the base, then the Russian president will land, and the president (Trump) will already be on the runway, ready to welcome the Russian president to Alaska,” Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe are travelling to Alaska with US President Donald Trump, according to the White House.
Also among the delegates are US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles and her deputy Dan Scavino.
Earlier, Donald Trump said that the territorial issue would be raised at the meeting with Putin. According to him, he wants this meeting to bring Moscow and Kyiv to the negotiating table to discuss possible ways to resolve the conflict.
