Donald Trump has promised “very severe consequences” for Russia if its leader Vladimir Putin refuses to agree to end the war with Ukraine when they meet in Alaska on Friday.
The US president issued the threat after holding talks on Wednesday with European leaders that went some way to calming their fears he could strike a deal on territory with Mr Putin and then try to impose it on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Mr Trump described his call with European allies as “very good” and “a 10”, adding he would like the Alaska meeting to be followed shortly by a trilateral gathering with Mr Putin and Mr Zelenskiy.
When asked what the consequences for Mr Putin would be if Russia’s president did not agree to stop the war, Mr Trump responded: “There will be very severe consequences, yes.”
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He did not elaborate. Mr Trump has threatened enhanced sanctions before without following through, however.
[ Why Putin has good reasons to be hopeful for Friday’s summit meeting with TrumpOpens in new window ]
Earlier in the day, speaking alongside Mr Zelenskiy, Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz hailed a “very constructive and good conversation” with Mr Trump, who he said would make achieving a ceasefire “one of his priorities” when meeting Mr Putin.
“If there is no movement from the Russian side in Alaska, then the United States and we Europeans must step up the pressure,” Mr Merz said. But he added: “There is hope for peace in Ukraine.”
Emmanuel Macron, president of France, said there had been “no serious” discussion about Ukrainian territorial concessions and that Mr Trump “very clearly” stated his objective of reaching a ceasefire.
Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte said European and US allies were “united” in pushing to end the war, adding that the ball ”is now in Putin’s court”.
Ukraine and its European allies became deeply alarmed last week when the US president said he would hold a bilateral summit with Mr Putin and floated the idea of a territorial swap between Russia and Ukraine to end the war. Kyiv feared being forced into making painful territorial concessions to Moscow or being punished or abandoned by Washington if it refused.
European leaders appeared to draw some reassurance from their conversation with Mr Trump, but Ukrainian and European officials remain concerned that he could be swayed once in the room with the Russian leader, a wily negotiator.
On the issue of Russian-occupied territory, Mr Macron said “things were very clear and expressed as such by president Trump ... that territorial questions on Ukraine can only be, and will only be, negotiated by the president of Ukraine. This is the position that we support and it was clearly said by Trump.”
Mr Macron also said it was “very important” Mr Trump had recognised that any territorial concession by Ukraine must come with security guarantees and that the US “should take part”.
“The Ukrainian armed forces must be able to defend their country’s sovereignty,” Mr Merz said, adding that legal recognition of Russian occupation in Ukraine was “out of the question”.
Mr Zelenskiy said Mr Trump confirmed Russia should not hold a veto on Ukraine’s EU and Nato memberships. However, the Ukrainian leader used the call to warn the US president that Putin would try to “bluff” by playing down the impact of western sanctions.
“Putin doesn’t want peace. He wants to occupy us completely,” he said. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
