The world with its eyes on Alaska, what will the Trump-Putin meeting bring?

President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters from Air Force One, said something will come of his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Trump added that despite Putin thinking that the continued attacks against Ukraine give him strength, in reality it is the complete opposite.

"I think they're trying to negotiate, in Putin's mind it helps him make a better deal. But it actually hurts him... but I'll talk to him about that later ," Trump says.

Regarding territorial exchanges, Trump said they remain an option because ultimately the decision will be made by Ukraine itself.

"Territorial exchanges will be discussed, but I have to let Ukraine make that decision. I think they will make a proper decision ," Trump said further.

The American leader goes on to say that security guarantees for Ukraine, something seen as vital in Kiev and Europe, were possible, but not with NATO involvement.

"Maybe, together with Europe and other countries. Not in the form of NATO. We will not do business until we resolve the war ," he added.

Regarding potential US-Russia trade, Trump claims that Putin wants a piece of the American economy and business.

" I notice that he is bringing a lot of businessmen from Russia and that is good, I like that, because they want to do business, but we will not do business until the war is resolved ," he said.

In the end, Trump said that they were holding this meeting to save the lives of thousands of people who are dying and added that there would be consequences for Russia if Putin did not agree to end the war.

"I'm not doing this for my health. Okay, I don't need it. I would like to focus on our country, but I'm doing this to save many lives. Yes, it will be very heavy," he said of possible economic measures against Moscow.

Ndërsa e gjithë bota pret që Donald Trump të niset për bisedime me Vladimir Putinin, sytë drejtohen gjithashtu edhe te mungesa e Presidenti ukrainas, Volodymyr Zelensky, në këtë takim.

Trump ka sugjeruar që mund të organizohet një takim i mëtejshëm, përfshirë Zelenskyn, nëse takimi i sotëm shkon mirë.

Zelensky ende nuk ka reaguar sot, por ai është takuar me udhëheqës evropianë ditët e fundit, përfshirë një video-konferencë që përfshinte Trumpin të mërkurën.

Kur Trump konfirmoi për herë të parë detajet e takimit të tij me Putinin, Zelensky tha në një video-mesazh se vendimet e marra për Ukrainën pa Ukrainën janë "vendime të lindura të vdekura" dhe "të pazbatueshme".

“Presidenti Trump njoftoi përgatitjet për takimin e tij me Putinin në Alaska. Shumë larg kësaj lufte, e cila po zhvillohet në tokën tonë, kundër popullit tonë dhe që gjithsesi nuk mund të përfundojë pa ne, pa Ukrainën”, tha ai.

Pas një video-thirrjeje me udhëheqësit evropianë, në të cilën u bashkua edhe Trump, Zelensky përsëriti se rruga drejt paqes nuk mund të përcaktohet pa Ukrainën.

Megjithatë ai falënderoi Trumpin për mbështetjen e Ukrainës, duke shtuar se SHBA-të janë të gatshme ta vazhdojnë këtë mbështetje.

President Donald Trump is headed to Alaska, where he will hold a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The president's official schedule said Trump was supposed to leave at 6:45 a.m. local time, but there were several delays, which caused the presidential plane to be ready for takeoff about 1 hour late. The president left the White House at 7:31 a.m. local time.  

Before leaving the White House, Trump made a post on the social network "Truth Social" where he wrote: "HIGH STAKES!!!", describing the importance and weight of this meeting. 

The White House also released the names of the officials who will travel with President Trump aboard Air Force One to Alaska.

Sixteen people are listed, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and special envoy Steve Witkoff. As well as Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

The stakes are “very high” for leaders in Europe ahead of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart. Regional lawmakers will watch from a very anxious distance when Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Alaska for a high-profile discussion that could change the fate of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

"For the entire European continent, the risks are very high and the uncertainty is great," Nigel Gould-Davies, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told CNN's Polo Sandoval on Friday.

European politicians who have been completely excluded from the discussions, including Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, held a virtual summit with Trump on Wednesday to coordinate their position and engage the White House, Gould-Davies said.

" The prospect of Trump and Putin, in relative isolation, reaching an agreement that would fundamentally threaten not only Ukrainian but also European security is a major concern," he said.

“This is not essentially a war in Ukraine for territory. Russia’s broader ambition is to subjugate all of Ukraine (under Russian control) and then in due course use this as a springboard to threaten the broader security of the continent. No one really knows where President Trump himself will end up. It’s all a matter of the alchemy of the Trump-Putin relationship… It’s about what goes on in the mind of a single man ,” he added.

Ministri i Jashtëm rus, Sergey Lavrov

Ministri i Jashtëm rus Sergey Lavrov dhe ambasadori rus në SHBA, Alexander Darchiev, kanë mbërritur në Alaska përpara një samiti të planifikuar Trump-Putin, raportuan mediat shtetërore ruse më 15 gusht.

Presidenti i SHBA-së, Donald Trump, dhe presidenti rus Vladimir Putin do të takohen në Alaska më vonë gjatë ditës, ndërsa Uashingtoni intensifikon përpjekjet për të ndërmjetësuar një marrëveshje paqeje midis Ukrainës dhe Rusisë.

Lavrov, i veshur me një bluzë me mbishkrimin në gjuhën ruse "BRSS", mbërriti në një hotel në Anchorage, qytetin më të madh të Alaskës dhe vendin e bisedimeve të ardhshme midis udhëheqësve të SHBA-së dhe Rusisë.

Media shtetërore ruse njoftoi se Putin ka mbërritur në qytetin Magadan në Lindjen e Largët të Rusisë përpara samitit të planifikuar. Magadani ndodhet rreth 3,162 kilometra (1,965 milje) nga Anchorage.

Pritet që udhëheqësi rus të takohet me guvernatorin lokal dhe të vizitojë një strukturë industriale përpara se të niset për në Alaska, tha zëdhënësi i Kremlinit, Dmitry Peskov.

Një aeroplan me gazetarë rusë ka mbërritur gjithashtu në Anchorage, raportoi media shtetërore.

Më 14 gusht, Trump tha se Putin do të vijë në samitin në Alaska i gatshëm për të bërë një marrëveshje për t'i dhënë fund luftës së Rusisë kundër Ukrainës.

"Unë besoj se tani ai është i bindur se do të bëjë një marrëveshje. Ai do të bëjë një marrëveshje. Mendoj se do ta bëjë," tha Trump për Fox Radio. "Dhe do ta zbulojmë, do ta di shumë shpejt."

Ndërkohë, Shtëpia e Bardhë ka thënë se Trump preferon diplomacinë, por është gati të rrisë presionin ekonomik mbi Rusinë nëse është e nevojshme.

"Sigurisht, ka sanksione dhe shumë masa të tjera që presidenti mund t'i përdorë nëse i duhet. Jo se ai dëshiron... diplomacia dhe negociatat kanë qenë gjithmonë rruga për këtë president," tha Sekretarja e Shtypit e Shtëpisë së Bardhë Karoline Leavitt më 14 gusht.

Trump ka thënë më parë se nëse takimi i 15 gushtit shkon mirë, ai do të kërkojë një takim trepalësh midis tij, Putinit dhe Presidentit Volodymyr Zelensky.

Rusia i ka bërë kërkesa maksimaliste Kievit në bisedimet e mëparshme të drejtpërdrejta për paqe, duke përfshirë edhe heqjen dorë nga aspiratat e saj për në NATO dhe çmilitarizimin.

Muaje më parë, përpjekjet e SHBA-së për të ndërmjetësuar një marrëveshje paqeje midis Ukrainës dhe Rusisë dështuan. Kievi dhe Moska më vonë zhvilluan tre raunde bisedimesh të drejtpërdrejta për paqe në Stamboll, të cilat ishin kryesisht të pafrytshme.

Before departing for the US territory, the Russian president made a stop in Magadan, a Russian port on the Sea of Okhotsk, located about 5,900 kilometers from Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun his trip to the United States ahead of a crucial summit with Donald Trump that will take place today at 10:00 PM (Greece time) in Alaska.

Before heading to the US territory, the Russian president made a stop in Magadan, a Russian port on the Sea of Okhotsk (Pacific Northwest) that is about 5,900 kilometers from Moscow. There, according to the Tass agency, he is scheduled to visit a fish oil processing plant, the Mayak social and cultural center and a monument to heroic Russian pilots in the coming hours. He will also meet with the region's governor, Sergei Nosov.

There are many videos online that citizens have recorded of an impressive convoy of armored vehicles, accompanied by patrol cars and an ambulance, as it crossed the closed roads of the Russian Far East towards the Pacific coast. The draconian security measures reflect the importance of the upcoming meeting with the American president.

The talks in Alaska, the first face-to-face between the two leaders since 2018, are expected to focus on finding a way to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine. Trump, who extended the invitation to Putin, later sounded cautious, warning that the meeting could be called off within minutes if Moscow is not willing to compromise.

The two scenarios presented by Trump for the outcome of the meeting

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet today at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska. The crucial one-on-one meeting is scheduled to begin around 11:00 a.m. local time.

The US President will leave the White House at 6:45 a.m. local time (12:45 p.m. ET) today and depart Anchorage the same day, at 5:45 p.m. ET today. He is scheduled to return to the White House on Saturday morning.

In the past 24 hours, Trump has tried to temper expectations, despite his claim that he would end the war in Ukraine on his first day in office. The 79-year-old Republican, who says he wants to "interview" his Russian counterpart, predicted on Wednesday that there are two possible outcomes.

If the meeting goes well, a trilateral summit between him, Putin and their Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky will follow, "almost immediately", to end the war that erupted in February 2022, with the invasion of the Russian army.

However, if the first face-to-face meeting he will have with the Kremlin leader since 2019 goes badly, the tycoon says "there will be no second one."

Europeans were trying on Wednesday to influence the mood with which Trump, known for his highly volatile temper, will discuss with Putin.

The summit is clearly not a peace conference. And the main issue for the Ukrainian president and the Europeans is that Anchorage does not become a kind of Yalta, the historic summit in which the great powers defined territories and zones of influence, like the one in February 1945 between the US, the UK and the Soviet Union.

US President Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump believes his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, will not try to "play" with him during their meeting today at 9:30 PM Albanian time in Alaska.

He has said his goal is to "soon" include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in upcoming peace talks for Ukraine.

Hours before the meeting of Russian and American leaders, Ukraine is facing increasing military pressure and on Thursday authorities ordered new evacuations of areas in the eastern Donetsk region, where the advance of Moscow's troops has continued apace in recent days.

"If I weren't president, (Putin) would want to take control of all of Ukraine. But I'm president, and he's not going to play with me," President Trump told reporters at the White House on the eve of a crucial one-on-one meeting with the Kremlin strongman.

For Daniel Fried, a former US ambassador to Poland and now an analyst at the Atlantic Council, the danger of Friday's meeting could be that it turns into a "missed opportunity" if Putin simply buys time.

"I'll know in the first two, three, four or five minutes" whether the meeting will be constructive or not, claimed Trump, who considers himself a favorite for the Nobel Peace Prize.

"This meeting will pave the way for another one," with the participation of the Ukrainian president, he said earlier in an interview he gave to Fox News Radio.

Concern in Kiev and the EU

Kiev and the Europeans fear that in Zelensky's absence, Trump and Putin could begin to redraw the map of Ukraine.

"I don't want to use the term 'partition,' but, in a way, it's not a bad term," said the US president, who has said territorial concessions will be required to reach an agreement to end the war in Ukraine.

The US president also expressed his desire for a trilateral summit in the future, perhaps in Alaska.

For his part, Putin praised the "practical and sincere" efforts of the US to "end hostilities, resolve the crisis and reach agreements that will satisfy all parties involved."

The Ukrainian president was not invited to the meeting between the two leaders, whose relationship is volatile and marked by tensions and sometimes spectacular rapprochement. Volodymyr Zelensky visited London on Thursday, where he was received by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. European leaders have rallied to his side, trying to influence the American president.

Trump's one-on-one meeting with Putin will take place at Elmendorf-Richardson Air Force Base near Anchorage, with only their interpreters present, and the talks will focus on "resolving the Ukrainian crisis" as well as bilateral issues, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said. A working lunch with delegations from both countries will follow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump are seen before a meeting in Helsinki, on July 16, 2018./Getty Images

"It's like a game of chess," Trump said before his August 15 meeting with Putin, in an interview with Brian Kilmeade, a Fox News radio journalist.

"This meeting prepares the second meeting, which will be very important because that's where the agreement will be made. And I don't want to use the word 'parting things', but in a sense it's not a negative term: there will be a negotiation about borders, about lands, etc."

24 hours before his trip to Alaska, the US president explained that the main objective of the meeting with Putin is to pave the way for a trilateral summit with Zelensky, where "we may bring some of the European leaders, or we may not," as he added while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office. He imagines that in this trilateral meeting the peace agreement will be negotiated: "I will let them negotiate, I will not negotiate the agreement."

Meanwhile, Trump is confident that he can tell in 2-5 minutes whether a face-to-face meeting with Putin will go well or badly. He estimates there is a “25%” chance that it will go badly, but remains quite optimistic: “Because of some of the relationship he has with me, I believe he is now convinced to make a deal. He will make a deal,” he told Kilmeade, before adding, however, “We will find out, I will know very soon.” Trump also suggested that the second meeting, the one with Zelensky, could even take place in Alaska over the weekend: “I don’t know if we’re going to get an immediate ceasefire, but I think it’s going to happen. Listen, I’m more interested in an immediate peace agreement, getting it done as quickly as possible. And depending on what happens in my meeting, I’ll call President Zelensky… and have him come to where we’re going to meet. I don’t know where the second meeting will take place, but we have three possible places in mind. And the easiest thing would be to stay in Alaska.” “Wow,” the reporter replied, asking the president if he had told the Ukrainian leader to be ready to go. But Trump backed off: “I don’t want to talk about the second meeting with him, I don’t want to even suggest that there might be one.”

Trump believes that secondary sanctions against buyers of Russian oil (already imposed on India and threatened for China) have influenced Putin's decision to meet with him. "Certainly, when you lose your second-largest customer and you know you're likely to lose your first one too... I think that carries weight. I think he respects our country now, he didn't with Biden."

Trump also thinks economic incentives could persuade Russia, although he neither confirmed nor denied the Telegraph report that he would offer Putin the opportunity to exploit critical minerals in Alaska or Ukraine in exchange for a ceasefire (“Rare minerals are a relatively unimportant issue, we’re trying to save lives”).

Above all, Trump believes he has a special relationship with Putin. The US president criticizes the media for saying “oh, Trump works for Putin” and repeats that “Putin knows I’m the toughest guy he’s ever faced” (because he blocked the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and gave Kiev Javelin missiles). But recently, even Donald himself has been asked whether his relationship with Vladimir is what he thought, because after a few seemingly friendly and constructive phone calls, Putin has continued to hit Ukraine. “I ended six wars in six months and I’m proud of that. I thought this would be the easiest, but it’s the hardest,” he said yesterday. Trump has begun to consider the possibility that Putin wants to continue without stopping, but his confidence in his negotiating skills remains stronger. “I think if I weren’t president, he would take all of Ukraine, but I’m president and he’s not going to cheat me.”

Trump sees himself as a “peace president” (and always seeks the Nobel), but so far peace has eluded him in the biggest conflicts, in Ukraine and Gaza. If he emerges from the meeting with Putin without a result, it will be difficult to call him a winner. There is a possibility that the Russians will “distract” him, for example with a renewal of the nuclear weapons treaty that expires in February. He often goes to these meetings without much preparation, convinced of his ability to use force of personality as a winning weapon./ Corriere della sera