Trump Plans Three-Way Summit With Putin And Zelenskyy After Alaska Talks

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he plans to hold a three-way meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy immediately after his Alaska summit with Putin in an effort to end the three-year war in Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters after what he described as a “very good” call with European leaders that included Zelensky, Trump said the proposed second meeting would happen “almost immediately” if the Anchorage talks, set for Friday, went well. “If the first one goes okay, we’ll have a quick second meeting between President Putin, President Zelenskyy and myself, if they’d like to have me there,” he stated.

The announcement comes amid concerns from Kyiv and its allies over Russia’s offensive and the fact that Zelenskyy was not invited to the Alaska summit. Observers fear Trump and Putin could agree to terms requiring territorial concessions from Ukraine.

Trump, who promised during his 2024 campaign to end the war on his first day in office, has yet to make progress toward a peace deal. While he has threatened secondary sanctions on Russia’s trading partners over the invasion, his deadline for action passed without measures being announced.

On Wednesday, Trump warned there may be “no second meeting” if he feels Putin is acting in bad faith. “If I didn’t get the answers we have to have, then we are not going to have a second meeting,” he said.

According to AFP’s analysis of battlefield data from the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces on Tuesday made their largest 24-hour advance in Ukraine in more than a year, seizing or claiming 110 square kilometres in the east. The gains come in a strategically important section of the front line.

According to a report by The Hindu, Zelenskyy joined German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other European leaders, along with NATO and EU chiefs, on a call with Trump. The consensus among the allies was for the U.S. President to push for a ceasefire. Trump reiterated that Russia would face “severe consequences” if it failed to halt its offensive, but Zelenskyy voiced scepticism, saying, “Mr. Putin definitely does not want peace.”

Merz indicated Ukraine was willing to negotiate on territorial matters but ruled out recognising Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian land. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the talks had “strengthened the common ground for Ukraine,” while NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte declared, “The ball is now in Putin’s court.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the diplomatic activity as “politically and practically insignificant” and accused Western leaders of trying to “sabotage” U.S.-Russia efforts to resolve the conflict.

On the ground, Ukrainian soldiers in Kramatorsk expressed low expectations for the Alaska talks. “Putin is massing an army, his army is growing, he is stockpiling weapons, he is pulling the wool over our eyes,” said Artem, a 30-year-old serviceman.

Trump, tempering expectations, described the Alaska meeting as “a feel-out meeting” and hinted at possible land swaps in a final settlement. He has framed the talks as a step toward eventual negotiations that could involve territorial changes, while European leaders have stressed that legal recognition of Russian occupations “would not be up for debate”, as reported by The Hindu.