Trump Warns Russia Of ‘Very Severe Consequences’ If Talks Fail Over Ceasefire In Ukraine

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

WASHINGTON/BERLIN/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – U.S. President Donald J. Trump has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia will face “very severe consequences” if he does not agree to a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine during their upcoming summit in Alaska.

After a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders, including Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump also suggested pushing for a second summit if Friday’s meeting with Putin goes well. That follow-up, he pledged, would include Ukraine’s president.

“If the first one goes OK, we’ll have a quick second one,” Trump told reporters in Washington. “I would like to do it almost immediately, and we’ll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelenskyy and myself, if they’d like to have me there.”

Trump did not provide a timeframe for a second meeting. He is set to meet Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, reportedly at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, a U.S. military facility seen as crucial to countering the then-Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Asked if Russia would face consequences if Putin does not agree to stop the war after the Alaska meeting, Trump said: “Yes, they will … very severe consequences.”

He said these could include punishing tariffs on countries purchasing oil and other products from Russia, as well as other punitive measures, while increasing military support for Ukraine, which has faced a full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022.

‘PUTIN BLUFFING’

Speaking earlier in Berlin, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy noted that the United States is “ready to support us” following his call with Trump and European leaders.

Ahead of Friday’s U.S.-Russia summit, Zelenskyy said he told Trump that Putin is “bluffing” about the impact of sanctions and intends to “occupy all of Ukraine.”

The White House has described Friday’s meeting as a one-on-one “fact-finding” session for Trump.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who oversaw Wednesday’s video conference with Zelenskyy and U.S. and European leaders, said afterward that “important decisions” could be made in Alaska but emphasized that “fundamental European and Ukrainian security interests must be protected.”

Merz convened Wednesday’s call to ensure that European and Ukrainian leaders are heard before the summit. He stressed that a ceasefire must come at the start of negotiations, adding that Trump “also wants to make this one of his priorities” in the meeting with Putin.

Trump “was very clear” that the U.S. aims to secure a ceasefire at the summit, French President Emmanuel Macron said at a separate appearance in France.

TRILATERAL MEETING

Following Friday’s summit, Macron added that Trump would “seek a future trilateral meeting” involving Trump, Putin, and Zelenskyy. He said he hoped it could be held in Europe “in a neutral country that is acceptable to all parties.”

Merz, who described Wednesday’s discussion as “constructive and good,” said Europeans made clear that “Ukraine must sit at the table as soon as there are follow-up meetings.”

European allies have pushed for Ukraine’s participation in peace talks, concerned that discussions excluding Kyiv could tilt in Moscow’s favor.

The talks come as Ukraine faces massive Russian drone and missile strikes and recent battlefield losses.

The war is Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II, with estimates of more than 1 million people killed or injured, including children.

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