Trump’s frustrations with the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine have been ramping up as of late, especially considering his tariff threats from earlier in the year as well as when he announced that “Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.” Now that Trump will meet with Vladimir Putin in an Alaska summit, he seems to be working to push a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
Prior to the planned summit, Trump has been in talks with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky, as the New York Post states that “Zelensky revealed what Trump told him and other European leaders ahead of the US-Russia summit in Anchorage, Alaska, saying: ‘All the partners demonstrated one voice, one desire, and one principle.’ ‘There should be a cease-fire, there should be security guarantees. President Trump said he supports this and spoke about America’s readiness to take part,’ the 47-year-old added.”
Trump already seems to have multiple ideas for how to proceed forward depending on how the talks in Alaska go, as he has stated interest in a second summit if the Friday summit goes well as The Guardian stated that “‘If the first one goes okay, 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 Zelenskiy and myself, if they’d like to have me there.’” He also stated that there will be “very severe consequences,” if the talks fall through. Trump’s purposefully vague answer to how he may proceed forward if Putin refuses to agree on a ceasefire is worrying to say the least. It could either lead to a large conflict or end up being a minor slap on the wrist. For now, however, we’ll have to wait to see how things unfold.
