WASHINGTON (BN24) — President Donald Trump declared Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin “is not going to mess around with me” and expressed confidence that the Russian leader “wants a deal” hours before their historic Alaska summit aimed at ending the Ukraine war.
The meeting is scheduled for August 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, marking the first meeting between Trump and Putin since Trump was re-elected in 2024 and first since their last meeting in 2019 in Osaka.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump pushed back against suggestions that Putin held a “strong hand” ahead of their showdown, noting pointedly: “Well, he came to our country.” The president told reporters he believes Putin “would like to see a deal” and warned that without his leadership, Russia would have taken all of Ukraine.
“If I weren’t president, he would take over all of Ukraine. It’s a war that should have never happened,” Trump said. “If I weren’t president, in my opinion, he would much rather take over all of Ukraine – but I am president and he’s not going to mess around with me.”
Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was unlikely to be included in talks he described as a “feel-out meeting” to better understand Russia’s demands for ending its war in Ukraine. However, the president floated Alaska as the potential host for a second round of peace talks “very quickly” after Friday’s face-to-face meeting, this time bringing Zelensky and possibly “some European leaders” into the room.
“We have a meeting with President Putin tomorrow, I think it’s going to be a good meeting,” Trump said Thursday. “But the more important meeting will be the second meeting that we’re having. We’re going to have a meeting with President Putin, President Zelensky, myself, and maybe we’ll bring some of the European leaders along. Maybe not.”
The president expressed cautious optimism about the diplomatic prospects: “I think President Putin will make peace. I think President Zelensky will make peace. We’ll see if they can get along. And if they can it will be great.”
Trump acknowledged the high stakes of the encounter, warning there was a “25 percent chance” his meeting with Putin could end in failure. Yet the U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska is happening at a site where East meets West in a place familiar to both countries as a Cold War front line of missile defense, radar outposts and intelligence gathering.
The president likened the diplomatic encounter to “playing chess,” saying Friday’s initial talks will set up a second meeting between Putin and Zelensky if negotiations proceed favorably. Trump emphasized that no deal would be finalized without Ukraine’s president present.
“The second meeting is going to be very, very important, because that’s going to be a meeting where they make a deal,” Trump told Fox News Radio. “And I don’t want to use the word ‘divvy’ things up. But you know, to a certain extent, it’s not a bad term, okay?”
While Trump expressed hope for progress, he tempered expectations about immediate results. “I don’t know that we’re going to get an immediate ceasefire but I think it’s going to come,” he said. “I’m more interested in an immediate peace deal – getting peace fast.”
The announcement comes as Trump’s deadline for Russia to agree to a Ukraine ceasefire passed without any new action. Earlier, the discussion of a summit came amid the countdown to President Trump’s Friday deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine or face new sanctions and tariffs on Russian energy exports.
European leaders have been warning the U.S. president against making a deal without Ukraine, with leaders of six European nations and the EU calling for more pressure on Russia before the Trump-Putin summit. European leaders held a high-stakes meeting Wednesday with President Trump, Vice President Vance, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO’s chief ahead of Friday’s U.S.-Russia summit.
Putin earlier attempted diplomatic outreach by praising Trump’s “sincere efforts” to reach peace. The Russian leader suggested Moscow and Washington could pursue nuclear arms discussions following their meeting, even as Russia continues military preparations.
The summit location holds symbolic significance – Alaska, sold by Russia to the United States 158 years ago for $7.2 million, will now be where Putin attempts to negotiate territorial concessions from Ukraine. Trump previewed terms of a potential peace deal that could include “some swapping of territories.”
The meeting represents the most significant diplomatic effort to end the Ukraine conflict since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022. Intelligence estimates suggest Russia has lost approximately 250,000 troops while Ukraine has suffered around 100,000 casualties during the prolonged conflict.
Both leaders face intense international scrutiny as they attempt to navigate competing demands from allies and domestic constituencies while addressing one of the most consequential geopolitical crises of the decade.
