Key points
- Trump vows strength ahead of summit with Putin in Alaska
- Zelensky excluded, raising concerns about Ukraine’s role
- Trump proposes follow-up meeting with Zelensky
- Criticism grows over fears of concessions to Russia
ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump insisted Thursday he would not be intimidated by Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the eve of a high-stakes summit and said Ukraine would be involved in any deal on its fate.
Putin flies to Alaska on Friday at the invitation of Trump in his first visit to a Western country since he ordered the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, according to AFP.
.@POTUS: “We have a meeting with President Putin tomorrow. I think it’s going to be a good meeting but the more important meeting will be the second meeting… We’re going to have a meeting with President Putin, President Zelensky, myself… we’ll see if they can get along.” pic.twitter.com/tLWJntOL67
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 14, 2025
As Russia made gains on the battlefield, the Kremlin said the two presidents planned to meet one-on-one, heightening fears of European leaders that Putin will cajole Trump into a settlement imposed on Kyiv.
Putin won’t “mess around”
Trump insisted to reporters at the White House: “I am president, and he’s not going to mess around with me.”
“I’ll know within the first two minutes, three minutes, four minutes or five minutes… whether or not we’re going to have a good meeting or a bad meeting,” Trump said.
“And if it’s a bad meeting, it’ll end very quickly, and if it’s a good meeting, we’re going to end up getting peace in the pretty near future,” said Trump, who gave the summit a one-in-four chance of failure.
Trump has voiced admiration for Putin in the past and faced wide criticism after a 2018 summit in Helsinki where he appeared to accept the Russian’s denials of US intelligence on Moscow’s meddling in US elections.
Zelensky not invited
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited to the Alaska summit, which he has denounced as a reward to Putin, and has refused Trump’s calls to surrender territory.
Trump promised not to finalise any deal with Putin alone, and said he hoped to hold a three-way summit with Zelensky, possibly immediately afterwards in Alaska.
“The second meeting is going to be very, very important, because that’s going to be a meeting where they make a deal. And I don’t want to use the word ‘divvy’ things up. But you know, to a certain extent, it’s not a bad term,” Trump told Fox News Radio.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters any future deal needed also to ensure “security guarantees” for Ukraine.
But Trump has previously backed Russia’s stance in ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine.
“Very severe consequences”
Trump had boasted that he could end the war within 24 hours of returning to the White House in January.
But his calls to Putin — and intense pressure on Zelensky to accept concessions — have failed to move the Russian leader and Trump has warned of “very severe consequences” if Putin keeps snubbing his overtures.
The talks are set to begin at 11:30 am (1930 GMT) Friday at the Elmendorf Air Force Base, a major US military installation in Alaska that has been crucial in monitoring Russia.
Zelensky meets British premier
Zelensky met in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who vowed solidarity, a day after receiving support in Berlin.
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Putin on Friday to seize the “opportunity” of a ceasefire, AFP reported.
“The goal must be a summit also attended by President Zelensky” where “a ceasefire must be agreed”, he said in a statement, adding that Trump “can now take a major step toward peace”.
Protest in Alaska
Protesters have come out in support of Ukraine in Anchorage ahead of the summit, according to BBC.
People could be seen waving Ukrainian flags and unfurling a large banner with the words “Alaska stands with Ukraine”.
Fighting between Russia and Ukraine shows no signs of easing ahead of Trump and Putin’s meeting.
