Trump warns Putin of "very severe consequences" if Russia doesn't agree to stop Ukraine war

Washington DC [US], August 13 : US President Donald Trump warned Russian President Vladimir Putin of "very severe consequences" if Russia doesn't agree to stop the war with Ukraine after their meeting in Alaska on August 15.

"Yes. There will be consequences. I don't have to say (on the type of consequences). There will be very severe consequences," said Trump while answering a reporter's question at the Kennedy Centre on Wednesday.

Both leaders are scheduled to discuss a potential ceasefire in the Ukraine war on August 15 at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska's Anchorage. The summit, scheduled for Friday, marks the first in-person meeting between the leaders of the US and Russia in over four years.

If the first meeting goes well, a second meeting might be held soon, potentially involving Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.

"If the first meeting goes okay, we will have a quick second one. I would like to do it almost immediately. We will have a quick second meeting between President Putin, President Zelenskyy, and me if they would like to have me there...," said Trump.

Trump also mentioned the possibility of a trilateral meeting with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"...It was always going to be, I was going to meet with President Putin and then after that I am going to call the leaders and President Zelenskyy. I am going to call President Zelenskyy, then I will call, probably in that order, the leaders. There is a very good chance that we are going to have a second meeting which will be more productive than the first because the first is where I am going to find out where we are what we are doing," added the US President.

However, the US president added that this second meeting will not take place if he does not hear the answers he wants.

"There may be no second meeting because if I feel that it's not appropriate to have it because I didn't get the answers that we have to have then we are not going to have a second meeting," said Trump.

A 30-day pause on attacks on energy infrastructure has been proposed, with both sides agreeing to begin talks on the terms for a ceasefire in the Black Sea.

Trump further emphasised that the conflict is "Biden's work" and claimed he would have prevented it if he had been the US President.

"This is Biden's work, this is not my work. He got us into this thing. This war would have never happened if I were the President. But it is what it is. I am here to fix it...If we can save a lot of lives, it will be a great thing," said Trump.

He also claimed to have stopped five wars in the last six months and eliminated Iran's nuclear capability.

" I have stopped five wars in the last six months. On top of that, we wiped out the nuclear capability of Iran, obliterated it...," said Trump.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy remains sceptical about Putin's intentions, warning that Russia continues to prolong the war. He emphasised the need for specific details from Trump regarding the ceasefire proposal.

The Kremlin has outlined several conditions for a ceasefire, including a complete cessation of foreign military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

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