On the eve of his high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, US President Donald Trump voiced optimism that both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are ready to pursue peace in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The summit is set for August 15 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska. Speaking to reporters, Trump said, “I think President Putin will make peace and President Zelensky will make peace,” adding that his primary motivation was to save “thousands of soldiers a week.”
When asked about possible incentives, including access to US rare minerals for Russia, Trump remained non-committal. “We’re going to see what happens with our meeting. It’s going to be very important for Russia and for us—important because we’re going to save a lot of lives,” he said.
Trump also revealed plans for a follow-up meeting involving Putin, Zelensky, and possibly European leaders, which he described as potentially more significant than the Alaska talks. “We’ll see if they can get along. And if they can, it’ll be great,” he said.
Criticising the Biden administration, Trump referred to the conflict as “Biden’s war,” claiming it would never have occurred under his presidency. “I’m there for one reason: to see if I can stop the killing,” he stated.
The former president expressed confidence that he would know “in the first two minutes” whether a deal was possible, and suggested that normalised US-Russia trade could be a future possibility if Moscow shifted its focus “toward business instead of toward war.”
Trump’s meeting with Putin marks a pivotal diplomatic moment, with global attention on whether the Alaska summit can lay the groundwork for direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
