Furthering his bid for a Nobel Peace Prize, US President Donald Trump seems set on brokering a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. The countries have been fighting an intense war since the last 3 years. There are hopes now that a ceasefire could be reached between the countries as Trump is set to meet Putin in Alaska on August 15.
Amid high hopes from this rendezvous, Trump has issued a “severe” warning to the Russian President if he continues the war in Ukraine after the August 15 summit. The US President’s statement comes at a time when Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelenskyy is bringing global leaders’ attention to Putin’s bluff.
What is Trump’s warning to Putin?
The US President on Wednesday (August 13) said there will be “very severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to stop the Ukraine war after Friday’s summit. French President Emmanuel Macron said that Trump was “very clear” that the US wants to achieve a ceasefire at the upcoming US-Russia summit.
Russian President Putin had last year said a ceasefire would start the minute the Ukrainian government withdrew from 4 regions partially occupied by Russia – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. At that time, he had also stated that Ukraine would need to officially give up its efforts to join the NATO alliance.
At the same meeting on Wednesday, the Ukrainian President brought the leaders’ attention to Putin’s bluff ahead of his meeting with Trump. Zelenskyy said that the Russian President is “bluffing” about sanctions and “trying to apply pressure … on all sectors of the Ukrainian front”. According to Zelenskyy, this is an attempt to show that Russia is “capable of occupying all of Ukraine.”
During the meeting, the Ukrainian leader claimed that Putin is 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.”
Is a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire finally possible?
While Trump and Putin’s Alaska summit is highly anticipated, the US President had been clear that “territorial issues relating to Ukraine … will only be negotiated by the Ukrainian president”, French President Macron shared. He further added that the US President will also “seek a future trilateral meeting”, which would include him, Putin and Zelensky.
“I think that’s a very important point in this regard. And we hope that it can be held in Europe, in a neutral country that is acceptable to all parties,” Macron added.
While Zelenskyy hasn’t been invited to the Alaska summit, he recently had a productive call with Trump. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy last week said he had had a “productive” conversation with Trump on ending the war.
“President Trump is fully informed about Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities and communities,” Zelenskiy wrote on X, referring to intensifying drone and missile attacks. He added that Trump “knows the situation along the front line”, further noting that he had long supported US proposals for an immediate ceasefire.
Meanwhile, proposing the August 8 deadline for the ceasefire, the US President had earlier warned to hit Russia with new sanctions along with imposing 100% tariffs on countries that buy its oil.