Putin-Trump Alaska summit: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday openly praised US President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the Ukraine war. Putin described the Trump administration as very energetic and honest and said his team is making serious efforts to establish peace in the interests of all parties. The statement came at a time when the two leaders are preparing for the much-awaited US-Russia summit to be held in Alaska on Friday.
In a video released by the Kremlin, Putin said that Trump’s team is making very energetic and sincere efforts to end the conflict and wants to reach agreements that are beneficial to all parties involved. Russian President Putin indicated that a long-term peace can be established between Russia, the United States, Europe, and the rest of the world through an agreement on nuclear arms control.
Trump says the summit is likely to fail at 25%
In Washington, Trump said there was a 25% chance the summit would fail. But he also suggested that if the talks were successful, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could be invited to a three-nation meeting in Alaska. Speaking to Fox News, Trump also said he could extend his stay in Alaska depending on the progress of the talks.
Zelenskyy was welcomed to Britain
Meanwhile, Zelensky and European leaders are working to ensure that their interests are taken into account in any outcome of the Trump-Putin meeting. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer gave Zelensky a warm welcome in London on Thursday. The two leaders hugged each other outside 10 Downing Street but made no comments to the media. Zelensky left about an hour later.
Virtual meetings from Berlin
The day before arriving in Britain, Zelensky took part in virtual meetings with Trump and several European leaders from Berlin. The meetings were aimed at clarifying Europe’s strategic position ahead of the Alaska summit.
The Kremlin refuses to speculate on results
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified that no documents are expected to be signed at the meeting and it would be a big mistake to speculate on the results. According to Interfax, the Kremlin has confirmed that the Trump-Putin summit will begin at 11:30 a.m. local time.
Russian foreign policy adviser Yuri Usakov said the agenda will begin with a one-on-one meeting between the two leaders. This will be followed by discussions between the delegations, and then the talks will continue over a working breakfast. A joint press conference will also be held after the meeting.
