Trump says he and Putin will discuss Ukraine's future borders
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Trump and Putin at the G20 in 2019. Photo: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
President Trump said Monday that he expects Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to their meeting in Alaska on Friday with specific proposals for a deal to end the war, which he will then pass on to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with a recommendation to make peace or "keep fighting."
Why it matters: Trump suggested he's ready to negotiate with Putin about who gets what parts of Ukraine after the war, and even said he would "try to get some... territory back for Ukraine."
- But Zelensky won't be in the room, and Ukrainian and European officials are worried about what Russian proposals Trump might accept.
What he's saying: "I believe, he wants to get [the war] over with," Trump said of Putin. "Now, I've said that few times and I've been disappointed."
The intrigue: By his own acknowledgment, Trump flipped 180 degrees after Putin's meeting last week with his envoy Steve Witkoff — pausing sanctions that were to be announced last Friday, inviting Putin to Alaska, and starting to apply public pressure on Zelensky to accept a deal.
- In that meeting, Putin proposed terms whereby Ukraine would cede all of its mostly-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions along with Crimea, and freeze the battle lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, sources familiar with the discussion told Axios.
- Trump suggested Monday that he was hoping to secure a somewhat better deal from Ukraine — noting that Russia was occupying some "prime territory" along the Black Sea — but he would see what "parameters" Putin proposed on Friday.
- He said he'd call Zelensky after the meeting with Putin. "I may say, 'lots of luck, keep fighting.' Or I may say, 'we can make a deal.'"
Trump criticized Zelensky for saying he could not agree to cede territory under Ukraine's constitution, and falsely suggested Zelensky chose to start the war — veering back toward more hostile treatment of the Ukrainian president after months of apparent warming between the two.
- Trump cited a poll which he said showed that 88% of Ukrainians now wanted a peace deal as soon as possible. The true number is 69%, according to Gallup — still a dramatic increase.
The other side: The Ukrainians are pushing for an immediate ceasefire, to be followed only then by peace negotiations, an idea Trump himself proposed but Putin has repeatedly rejected in the past.
- Vice President Vance met with Ukrainian and European officials for several hours in the U.K. on Saturday. Ukraine and its European backers had sought the meeting to try to coordinate positions ahead of the Trump-Putin summit.
- Ukrainian officials insist they also want to end the war, if Putin agrees to a ceasefire and a "just peace" can be agreed.
Reality check: Putin and Zelensky still appear to be far apart in their definitions of a just peace, considering Zelensky would have to sign away large swathes of Ukrainian territory, while Putin currently has the upper hand militarily and may believe he can achieve more by force.
What to watch: Trump said during a press conference on Monday it was "very respectful" of Putin to agree to come to the U.S. rather than meeting in a third country, though he also misspoke twice and said he was going to Russia for the meeting.
- Trump also said he was about to announce Russia sanctions that were "much bigger" than the 50% tariffs he announced on India for buying Russian oil, and suggested that was still possible depending on what happens on Friday in Alaska.
