Donald Trump has claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to make a deal to end the war in Ukraine, just hours before the two leaders were set to meet in Alaska on Friday.
However, Trump’s comment that Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy may need to “divvy things up” is likely to raise concerns in Kyiv, where any suggestion of territorial compromise is highly sensitive.
Speaking before leaving the White House at 7:30am, Trump estimated there’s a 75% chance the summit will succeed. He suggested that economic sanctions could be pushing Putin toward a resolution.
Posting on Truth Social as his motorcade prepared to depart, Trump wrote: “HIGH STAKES!!!”
The high-profile Alaska summit is expected to focus heavily on ending the war, but Trump’s comments may complicate expectations around the nature of any potential agreement.
