Trump says he’ll know if Putin wants a peace deal with Ukraine in their meeting

US President Donald Trump said Monday that he expected to determine, moments into his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska this Friday, whether it would be possible to work out a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

Speaking at a White House press briefing, Trump said, “At the end of that meeting, probably the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made”.

He said he thought Friday’s sitdown with Putin in Alaska would be “really a feel-out meeting,” adding that “it’ll be good, but it might be bad”.

It could be “Lots of luck, keep fighting. Or I may say, we can make a deal.” Trump said.

Without elaborating, Trump reiterated that land exchanges might be a part of any significant agreement.

Friday's meeting at the request of Putin comes as Trump presses for a ceasefire that has remained out of reach in the Russian invasion of Ukraine and as European allies pushed for Ukraine’s involvement, fearful that discussions could otherwise favour Moscow.

Trump returns to criticising Zelenskyy

On Monday, Trump seemed to duck repeated chances to say that he would push for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to take part in his discussions with Putin.

Trump, who has harshly criticised both leaders after promising — and so far failing — to swiftly end the conflict, gave much of his criticism to Zelenskyy again.

According to Trump, Zelenskyy had been to “a lot of meetings” without managing to halt a war that Russia started.

Trump said that Zelenskyy had been in power for the duration of the war and “nothing happened” during that time, contrasting him with Putin, who has wielded power in Russia for decades.

He then said, after he meets with Putin, “The next meeting will be with Zelenskyy and Putin”, but it could also be a meeting with “Putin and Zelenskyy and me.”

The US leader’s eagerness to reach a deal has raised fears in Ukraine and Europe about such an agreement favouring Russia at the detriment of Ukraine.

EU leaders wary of Trump-Putin meeting

Earlier on Monday, EU foreign ministers called for "transatlantic unity" to back Ukraine and put further pressure on Russia.

And in a joint statement issued over the weekend, the leaders of Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the UK, and the European Commission rejected Putin's ceasefire proposal to trade the Ukrainian territories of Donetsk and Luhansk.

They stated that "the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations" and stressed that they "are united as Europeans and determined to jointly promote our interests". EU leaders also reiterated that "the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine."

To that point, Trump on Monday said he would call Zelenskyy and European leaders after his discussion with Putin to “tell them what kind of a deal — I’m not going to make a deal. It’s not up to me to make a deal.”

Trump’s up-and-down relations with Putin

More recently, Trump has expressed frustration with Putin that Russia hasn’t appeared to take a push for a ceasefire more seriously, and softened his tone toward Zelenskyy. But his comments on Monday suggested he might have had another change of heart.

“President Putin invited me to get involved,” Trump said. He noted that he thought it was “very respectful” that Putin is coming to the US for Friday’s meeting, instead of insisting that Trump go to Russia.

“I’d like to see a ceasefire. I’d like to see the best deal that can be made for both parties,” Trump said.

Meanwhile, Trump on Monday hinted that if Friday's summit goes well, he might see a time when trade between the United States and Russia returns to normal, a sharp contrast to his warnings of more economic sanctions.

However, it remains unclear if Russia will follow through by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine as analysts expect Putin to be unwavering in his demands to keep all the territory his forces now occupy and to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO.

Zelenskyy, for his part, has maintained he will never consent to any formal Russian annexation of Ukrainian territory or give up a bid for NATO membership.