WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Monday prepares to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and says he will try to return the territory to Ukraine for a contract to end the crushing perennial war between Ukraine and Russia.
“Russia occupying most of Ukraine. They occupy a very major territory. They are trying to reclaim some of that territory for Ukraine,” Trump told the White House press conference.
Trump said he was trying to see what Putin has “in mind” to end the war, saying that if it was a “fair deal,” he would share it with leaders of Europe and NATO, as well as Ukrainian Voldymir Zelensky, who is in close contact with Washington ahead of the meeting.
Asked on Monday if Zelensky was invited to a meeting with Putin in Alaska, Trump said the Ukrainian leader was “not a part of it,” and said they rarely came despite him taking part in many sit-ins during the war. “I’d say he can go, but he’s going to a lot of meetings. He’s been there for three and a half years – nothing happened,” Trump added.
The first call from Putin’s meeting, which was called “really touching,” is to become “respectful” Zelensky. He told Zelensky, “I might say, “A lot of luck, I’ll keep fighting.”
Comments came at a winding press conference, discussing efforts to combat crime in Washington, D.C. and planning to federate city police.
In his remarks, the president noted that following his “great calls” with Putin in the past, “The missiles have been lobbed to Kiev and elsewhere, 60 people are almost dying,” and that he can nod to the challenge of reaching a deal.
The follow-up meeting could include Zelensky and Putin, perhaps Trump himself, the president added. He said, “If they needed them, they would be there.”
But Trump said the Zelensky-Putin meeting was the only way to end the conflict.
“Now I’ll say this, in the end I’m going to put two of them in the room. I’ll either be there or not, and I think it’ll be resolved,” the president added.
He said he wanted to see the ceasefire and reach “the best deal for both parties.”
But “There will be some exchanges and some changes to the land,” Trump said. Returning to the idea of a “land exchange,” he said Friday would “be an improvement on both.” However, Zelensky was unshakable in his position that Ukraine should not give his territory to Russia. European allies agreed to encourage further Russian attacks by giving up on the land.
“The answer to Ukraine’s territorial issues is already in the Ukrainian constitution,” Zelensky said on Saturday. “No one can deviate from that. The Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupyers.”
Last week, Trump announced he was meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday as he attempts to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine. The White House initially held a meeting with Putin and Zelensky as a condition of a meeting between Trump and the Russian President, but Trump later said that it was not a prerequisite.
The White House emphasized that over the weekend, the priorities will be one-on-one with Putin, even if they weighed the prospects for future meetings with Zelensky.
“Next Friday is to test Putin and think about how serious it is to end this horrible war,” NATO executive director Mark Latte told ABC over the weekend.
Trump envoy Steve Witkov met with Putin in Moscow last week ahead of the deadline when the president prepared for Russian leaders to agree to a ceasefire or face new sanctions.
Putin has proposed an outline of an agreement to end the war that will allow Russia to retain its sweeping Ukrainian territory, but has not agreed to a ceasefire.
Zelenskyy issued warnings against concessions to Moscow, spurring stronger international pressure on Russia.
“Another week ended without Russia trying to agree with many requests in the world and stop the killing,” the Ukrainian leader said in X.
“Russia is dragging out war and deserves stronger global pressure. Russia refuses to stop killings and therefore must not receive rewards or benefits. This is not just a moral position. It is not a rational position. Concessions do not persuade the killer.
