Trump warns Putin of ‘very severe consequences’ ahead of Alaska crunch talks over Ukraine cease-fire

·RussiaTrump warns Putin of ‘very severe consequences’ ahead of Alaska crunch talks over Ukraine cease-fireBy Geir MoulsonBy Sylvie CorbetBy The Associated PressBy Geir MoulsonBy Sylvie CorbetBy The Associated Press Trump has strong words for Putin.JIM WATSON,EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump warned Wednesday that there will be “very severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to stop the war against Ukraine after the two leaders meet for a summit later this week in Alaska

Trump made the in response to a question from a reporter after announcing this year’s Kennedy Center Honors recipients in Washington

He did not say what the consequences might be

The remark came soon after Trump consulted with European leaders, who said the president assured them he would make a priority of trying to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine when he meets with Putin on Friday in Anchorage

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined several of Kyiv’s main allies in the virtual meeting with the U.S. leader, and Zelenskyy told the group that Putin “is bluffing” ahead of the planned summit Russia’s ability to occupy all of Ukraine and shake off sanctions

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said afterward that “important decisions” could be made in Alaska, but he stressed that “fundamental European and Ukrainian security interests must be tected.” Merz convened Wednesday’s meeting in an attempt to make sure European and Ukrainian leaders are heard ahead of the summit

He stressed that a ceasefire must come at the beginning of negotiations

He told reporters that Trump “also wants to make this one of his priorities” in the meeting with Putin

Trump “was very ” that the U.S. wants to achieve a ceasefire at the summit, French President Emmanuel Macron said at a separate appearance in France. ing Friday’s summit, Macron added, Trump will “seek a future trilateral meeting” — one involving Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy

He said he hoped that it could be held in Europe “in a neutral country that is acceptable to all parties.” Merz, who described Wednesday’s conversation as “constructive and good,” said the Europeans made that “Ukraine must sit at the table as soon as there are -up meetings.” European allies have pushed for Ukraine’s involvement in any peace talks, fearful that discussions that exclude Kyiv could otherwise favor Moscow

The Ukrainian president, who traveled to Berlin to join the meeting alongside Merz, has repeatedly cast doubt on whether Putin would negotiate in good faith

He said Wednesday that he hoped an immediate ceasefire will be “the central topic” in Alaska, but also argued that Putin “definitely does not want peace.” Zelenskyy said Putin “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.” Putin is also bluffing that sanctions “do not matter to him and are ineffective,” he added. “In reality, sanctions are very helpful and are hitting Russia’s war economy hard.” The stakes for Europe Trump has said he wants to see whether Putin is serious ending the war, now in its fourth year, describing Friday’s summit as “a feel-out meeting” where he can assess the Russian leader’s intentions

Yet Trump has disappointed allies in Europe by saying Ukraine will have to give up some Russian-held territory

He has also said Russia must accept land swaps, although it was un what Putin might be expected to surrender

Trump on Monday ducked repeated chances to say that he would push for Zelenskyy to take part in his discussions with Putin, and was dismissive of Zelenskyy and his need to be part of an effort to seek peace

Trump said that ing Friday’s summit, a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders could be arranged, or that it could also be a meeting with “Putin and Zelenskyy and me.” The Europeans and Ukraine are wary that Putin, who has waged the biggest land war in Europe since 1945 and used Russia’s energy might to try to intimidate the European Union, might secure favorable concessions and set the outlines of a peace deal without them

The overarching fear of many European countries is that Putin will set his sights on one of them next if he wins in Ukraine

Merz said that “if there is no movement on the Russian side in Alaska, then the United States and the Europeans should and must increase the pressure” on Moscow

Land concessions a non-starter for Kyiv Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30% of the Donetsk region that it still controls as part of a ceasefire deal, a posal the leader categorically rejected

Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine would not give up any territory it controls, saying that would be unconstitutional and would serve only as a springboard for a future Russian invasion

He said diplomatic discussions led by the U.S. focusing on ending the war have not addressed key Ukrainian demands, including security guarantees to prevent future Russian aggression and including Europe in negotiations

Three weeks after Trump returned to office, his administration took the leverage of Ukraine’s NATO membership off the table — something Putin has demanded — and signaled that the EU and Ukraine must handle security in Europe now while America focuses its attention elsewhere

Senior EU officials believe Trump may be satisfied with simply securing a ceasefire in Ukraine and that he is bably more interested in broader U.S. interests and great power , aiming to ramp up with Russia and rehabilitate Putin

Russian advances in Donbas Russian forces on the ground in Ukraine have been closing in on a key territorial grab around the city of Pokrovsk, in the eastern Donbas region that comprises Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, which Putin has long coveted

Military analysts using open-source information to monitor the battles have said Ukraine’s ability to fend off those advances could be critical: Losing Pokrovsk would hand Russia an important victory ahead of the summit and could complicate Ukrainian supply lines to the Donetsk region, where the Kremlin has focused the bulk of military efforts. ___ Corbet reported from Paris

Associated Press writers Annie Ma in Washington, Lorne Cook in Brussels, Samya Kullab in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Stefanie Dazio in Berlin contributed to this report

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