Russian invasion Negotiations

Trump after the meeting: “I give it a ten”

Donald Trump thinks the meeting with European leaders on Wednesday was good.

– I would give it a ten. It was very friendly, he says at a press conference.

The American president also says that there is a possibility that he and Vladimir Putin may meet more times after the meeting in Alaska. A second meeting would be “more productive” than the one taking place on Friday.

If the first meeting goes well, there is also a chance that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj may meet Vladimir Putin.

The European leaders who participated in the talks have also said that the meeting was positive and constructive.

Analysis: May have been the last chance for Europe to influence Donald Trump

Ukraine's European allies showed a united front during Wednesday's meetings ahead of Donald Trump's meeting with Vladimir Putin on Friday. This is what Siobhan Robbins writes in an analysis in Sky News. After speaking with the American president, Europe's message was that the United States is on their side.

"And that's important because today was perhaps Europe's last chance to [...] try to influence Trump," she writes.

If Trump sticks to the plan and puts pressure on Putin, there is a chance that a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine can be reached. The only problem is that Trump rarely sticks to the plan, she says.

Peter Baker at the New York Times writes that Trump has long been fond of the Russian president. The relationship between the two leaders is facing its most critical test in Alaska, and there are several question marks: Is Trump prepared to pressure Putin? Will Putin succeed in getting Trump to choose his side?

Between the lines, Lina Lund at Dagens Nyheter suspects that European leaders do not trust Trump at all to be able to stand up to Vladimir Putin. In two days, it remains to be seen what the American president chooses to do.

"That's an infinitely long time in Donald Trump's capricious existence," she writes.

Sources: Trump backs several Ukrainian demands

Donald Trump backed several of the demands that Ukraine and Europe put forward ahead of Friday's talks with Vladimir Putin, European diplomats told CNN. The president is said to have expressed support for an unconditional ceasefire, among other things.

According to the sources, Trump's statement gave the impression that he will not accept any Russian proposals to receive Ukrainian land in exchange for a ceasefire. The diplomats state, just like several European leaders, that Trump agrees that Ukraine must be included in negotiations concerning the country's borders.

The American president also wants Ukraine to receive security guarantees, including from the United States.

At the same time, the sources state that there are low expectations for the meeting and that it is not possible to place too much importance on how Europe interpreted the conversation. 

Task: Europe wanted NATO chief to attend

In today's meeting with Donald Trump, officials from European countries suggested that Europe should be directly present when the American president meets with Vladimir Putin on Friday, according to information to the Wall Street Journal.

NATO chief Mark Rutte was mentioned as a suggestion, and European countries also argued that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should participate. However, the demands have reportedly been withdrawn because Trump believes that the talks would be disrupted by the Ukrainian president's presence.

Trump has instead agreed to first inform Zelensky about what was said after the meeting with Putin, and then the European leaders who participated in Wednesday's digital meeting.