Trump threatened with "severe consequences" if Putin does not agree to a ceasefire after the summit in Alaska
The Russian leader's last visit to the United States was in 2015, when he attended the United Nations General Assembly, in addition to meeting with Barack Obama.
Trump at the Kennedy Center/ Mandel Ngan.
Donald Trump toughened his stance with Vladimir Putin ahead of their meeting in Alaska. The press questioned him about his meeting with the Russian leader. The president assured them that there will be "severe consequences" if an agreement on a cease-fire in the war with Ukraine is not reached.
Speaking to reporters at the Kennedy Center, Trump referred to what will be his first face-to-face with Putin since 2018, when the two met in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. In addition, the meeting will mark the Russians' return to the United States. His last visit was in 2015 to attend the United Nations General Assembly, in addition to meeting with Barack Obama.
Trump specifically referred to the goals of the meeting and threatened "consequences" if a ceasefire cannot be agreed: "I don’t have to say. There will be very severe consequences."
He was also asked if he believed Russia would stop targeting civilians in Ukraine. "I’ve had that conversation with him. I’ve had a lot of good conversations with him. Then I go home, and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home, or a rocket hit an apartment building, and people are lying dead in the street. So I guess the answer to that is no, because I’ve had this conversation," he noted in that regard.
The details of the meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska
The place chosen is the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, a US military installation at the northern tip of Anchorage, the most populous city in Alaska. Built in 1940, the base functioned as a critical air defense site and a central command point during the Cold War.
The last time this site hosted a diplomatic event was in 2021, when President Joe Biden's national security team met there with their Chinese counterparts.
Yuri Ushakov, Putin's secretary, referred to the choice of Alaska as a venue: "It seems quite logical for our delegation simply to fly over the Bering Strait and for such an important and anticipated summit of the leaders of the two countries to be held in Alaska."
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