Trump warns putin of ‘severe consequences’ if war persists

Trump warns putin of ‘severe consequences’ if war persists

U.S. President to also ‘seek a future meeting’, involving Putin and Zelenskyy, following the summit on Friday, says Macron; Putin ‘bluffing’ ahead of the planned meeting with Trump, says Zelenskyy.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday there will be “very severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to stop the Ukraine war after Friday’s summit. Mr. Trump was “very clear” in a virtual meeting Wednesday with European leaders that the U.S. wants to achieve a ceasefire at the upcoming U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

In the same meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, he told the group that Mr. Putin “is bluffing” ahead of the planned meeting with Trump.

Mr. Putin, Mr. Zelenskyy said, “is trying to apply pressure ... on all sectors of the Ukrainian front” in an attempt to show that Russia is “capable of occupying all of Ukraine.”

Mr. Putin is also bluffing about sanctions, “as if they do not matter to him and are ineffective. In reality, sanctions are very helpful and are hitting Russia’s war economy hard,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.

Truce utmost priority

Speaking after the video conference between Mr. Trump, Mr. Zelenskyy and other European leaders, Mr. Macron said Mr. Trump was prioritising a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.

He added that Mr. Trump had been clear that “territorial issues relating to Ukraine ... will only be negotiated by the Ukrainian president.”

Following his meeting on Friday with the Russian leader, Mr. Trump will also “seek a future trilateral meeting” — one involving Mr. Trump, Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelenskyy, Mr. Macron said.

“I think that’s a very important point in this regard,” Mr. Macron said.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had convened the virtual meetings in an attempt to make sure European and Ukraine’s leaders are heard ahead of the summit, where Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin are expected to discuss a path toward ending Moscow’s war in Ukraine.