Trump outlines vision for relations with Putin as Zelensky urges US support
United States President Donald Trump highlighted his positive relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin en route to Alaska, expressing openness to business discussions, but only if progress is made toward peace in Ukraine.
“I noticed he’s bringing a lot of businesspeople from Russia, and that’s good. I like that because they want to do business, but they’re not doing business until we get the war solved,” Trump said aboard Air Force One.
Asked whether business opportunities would be on the agenda, Trump replied, “If we make progress, I would discuss it, because that’s one of the things they would like; they’d like to get a piece of what I built in terms of the economy.”
Trump said he believes “something” will come out of the Alaska summit, adding, “Look, he’s a smart guy. Been doing it for a long time, but so have I. I’ve been doing it for a long time, and here we are: We’re president. We get along. There’s a good respect level on both sides, and I think something’s going to come of it.”
Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Kirill Dmitriev, head of the country’s sovereign wealth fund and a senior economic negotiator, are among those attending the talks with Putin.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the meeting between Trump and Putin as “high stakes” and a potential step toward a trilateral summit involving Ukraine, the US, and Russia.
“The key thing is that this meeting should open up a real path toward a just peace and a substantive discussion between leaders in a trilateral format,” Zelensky said, emphasizing that “the necessary steps must be taken by Russia” to end the war.
Zelensky said Ukraine is “counting on America” and remains ready to work “as productively as possible,” adding that he expects an intelligence report on “the current intentions of the Russian side and its preparations for the meeting in Alaska.”
On the battlefield, Zelensky reported that Ukrainian forces are repelling Russian attempts to gain ground near Pokrovsk in eastern Donetsk and have reinforced defenses in Dobropillia and other areas of the region.
“The Russian army continues to suffer significant losses in its attempts to secure more favorable political positions for the Russian leadership at the meeting in Alaska,” he said.
