TRUMP SAYS PUTIN WILL DO A DEAL ON UKRAINE
Trump said on the eve of the summit that he thought Putin would do a deal on Ukraine, but he has blown hot and cold on the chances of a breakthrough. Putin, meanwhile, praised what he called “sincere efforts” by the US to end the war.
A source close to the Kremlin told Reuters it looked as if the two sides had been able to find some unspecified common ground beforehand.
“Apparently, some terms will be agreed upon tomorrow (Friday) because Trump cannot be refused, and we are not in a position to refuse (due to sanctions pressure),” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.
Putin has set stringent conditions for a full ceasefire, but one compromise could be a phased truce in the air war, although both sides have accused the other of flouting a previous accord.
Analysts say Putin could try to look like he’s giving Trump what he wants while remaining free to escalate in Ukraine if he wants to.
“If they (the Russians) are able to put a deal on the table that creates some kind of a ceasefire but that leaves Russia in control of those escalatory dynamics, does not create any kind of genuine deterrence on the ground or in the skies over Ukraine … that would be a wonderful outcome from Putin’s perspective,” said Sam Greene, director of Democratic Resilience at the Center for European Policy Analysis.
Trump said on Wednesday that Russia would face “very severe consequences” if it did not halt its offensive.
The US leader initially said there would be some “land swapping going on” at the talks, but appeared to walk back after speaking with European leaders on Wednesday.
Trump has said he would “like to see a ceasefire very, very quickly”.
But the White House has played down expectations of a breakthrough, describing it as a “listening exercise”.
“If the first one goes okay, we’ll have a quick second one,” Trump said, hinting Zelenskyy could take part in a subsequent summit.
