بعد تهديد ووعيد.. ترمب وبوتين وجهاً لوجه في ألاسكا

The world's attention today (Friday) is focused on Alaska, where the much-anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is taking place. Trump confirmed that Putin will not be able to "mess" with him, stating that any agreement related to Ukraine will only be made in a later trilateral meeting involving Kyiv. The White House announced that the Trump-Putin meeting will take place at 11 a.m. local time (7 p.m. GMT). This will be Putin's first visit to a Western country since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022.

The two leaders are meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, a major U.S. military facility in Alaska that has played a crucial role in monitoring Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited to the summit, which he described as a reward for Putin, and he refused to concede any territory to Russia.

For his part, Russian presidential advisor Yuri Ushakov informed reporters in Moscow that these talks will be held in a bilateral format, with the participation of translators.

As Russia makes territorial gains in Ukraine, European leaders' fears have increased regarding the possibility of Putin dragging the American president into a settlement imposed on Ukraine.

However, Trump stated in a remark to reporters at the White House yesterday (Thursday), "I am the president, he will not mess with me." He added, "I will know within the first two, three, four, or five minutes... whether our meeting will be good or bad." He indicated that "if the meeting is bad, it will end very quickly, and if it is good, we will end up establishing peace in the near future."

Trump confirmed on the eve of the summit that he will not make any agreement with Putin and that he will involve the Ukrainian president in any decisions. He added that the second meeting will be extremely important, as it will be the meeting in which they reach an agreement. "I don't want to use the term land-sharing, but you know that, to some extent, this is not a bad term."

Trump announced during an interview with Fox News that he is considering three locations for a follow-up meeting with Putin and Zelensky, although he noted that the second meeting is not guaranteed. He added, "Depending on what happens in my first meeting with Putin in Alaska, I will call President Zelensky, and we will bring him to wherever we meet."

Trump has boasted in the past about his ability to end the war within 24 hours of returning to the White House last January, but his calls to Putin and the immense pressure he exerted on Zelensky to agree to concessions failed to convince the Russian president. Trump thus warned of very serious consequences if Putin continues to ignore his efforts to stop the war.

In contrast, the Kremlin stated that there are no plans to sign any agreements at the conclusion of the Russian-American summit in Alaska, clarifying that it is a major mistake to predict the outcomes of the talks between Trump and Putin.

Putin welcomed (on Thursday) the U.S. efforts to end the conflict, stating that the talks could help reach an agreement to control the spread of nuclear weapons as part of broader measures to enhance peace. He added during a meeting with senior officials in Moscow that the U.S. administration is making active and sincere efforts to end the fighting.

For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that his country received U.S. military aid funded by Europe amounting to one and a half billion dollars.

This came during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, which focused on the war in Ukraine, while Starmer stated that both sides affirmed their strong determination to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.

The Alaska summit coincides with Russia making significant territorial gains in Ukraine, as authorities in Kyiv issued evacuation orders for families with children from the town of Druzhkivka and from four nearby villages in an area where Russian forces have made rapid advances.

Russian forces advanced quickly by 10 kilometers into a narrow sector of the front line near the towns of Dobropillya and Druzhkivka. This was the largest advance by Russian forces in Ukrainian territory in over a year within a 24-hour period.