"I'm the president, and he's not going to outmaneuver me. Within the first two to five minutes, I'll know whether it's going to be a good meeting or a bad meeting," US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on 14/8, referring to his upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump estimated a 25% chance of the summit failing. "If it's a bad meeting, it'll end very quickly. If it's a good meeting, we'll have peace in the near future," he said.
The president expressed optimism that Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would reach a peace agreement. "I think Putin wants to make peace, and I think Zelensky wants to make peace. Let's see if they can work it out between themselves," he said.
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President Trump in the Oval Office, White House on 14/8. Photo: AFP |
President Trump in the Oval Office, White House on 14/8. Photo: AFP
The US president pledged not to sign any agreement with Russia unilaterally, but to include Ukraine in all decisions regarding its future. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also told reporters that any future agreement must guarantee Ukraine's security commitments.
Trump downplayed expectations of a ceasefire following the summit, placing hope instead on a second meeting with more leaders involved.
"I think it'll be a good discussion, but it's the second meeting that we're going to have that's more important. We're going to have one with President Putin, President Zelensky, and we may include several European leaders. Maybe we won't," he said.
The summit between Trump and Putin is scheduled to begin at 11:30 on 15/8 (2:30 Hanoi time on 16/8) at a facility within Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska's largest city. This will be the first meeting between the US and Russian leaders since June 2021.
The two leaders will meet one-on-one, with only interpreters present. Russian officials warned it would be a "big mistake" to predict the meeting's outcome. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the two sides have no plans to sign any documents after the event.
On 14/8, Putin welcomed US diplomatic efforts. "The US administration is undertaking vigorous, sincere efforts to end the fighting," he said during a meeting with senior officials in Moscow.
Thuy Lam (AFP, Reuters)
