Trump Has A Stark Warning For Vladimir Putin Ahead Of Their Alaska Meeting

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Moscow will face “severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin continues his war in Ukraine past their face-to-face meeting this week, as Europe braces for the results of their talks.

The two men are scheduled to sit down at Joint-Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday as Trump tries to broker an end to the three-year war. The Kremlin has also said the two men will hold a press conference.

Speaking to reporters at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Trump vowed to punish his Russian counterpart if his forces continue to fight Ukraine after the summit.

Asked to provide more specificity about what measures he plans to take, Trump declined to answer.

“I don’t have to say,” Trump said. “There will be very severe consequences.”

Ahead of his meeting with Putin, Trump took part in a call with European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, organized by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz as Europe is anxious about the summit, hoping to avoid seeing Ukraine pressured into an unfavorable deal by the U.S. and Russian leaders.

Trump described Wednesday’s call as “very good.”

“I would rate it a 10,” Trump said. “Very friendly.”

NBC News reported that Trump assured European leaders he wouldn’t discuss territorial divisions with Putin, adding that the purpose of the bilateral summit is to get the Russian leader to agree to a ceasefire.

Trump has previously said there will be some “land swapping” between Russia and Ukraine.

Zelenskyy told reporters he warned both Trump and his fellow leaders on the call that Putin is “bluffing” when claiming he intends to bring the conflict to a close.

“He is trying to apply pressure before the meeting in Alaska along all parts of the Ukrainian front,” Zelenskyy said, according to a translation provided by Reuters. “Russia is trying to show that it can occupy all of Ukraine.”

Still, Trump has defended his decision to host Putin in the United States, expressing frustration at the criticism he has received, including from his former national security adviser, John Bolton.

“Putin has already won. He is the leader of a rogue state, and he’ll get a picture on U.S. soil with the president of the United States,” Bolton told The Atlantic.