Anchorage (USA) – London – Al-Zaman (AFP) – On Thursday, US President Donald Trump emphasized that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would not be able to “mess” with him ahead of their anticipated summit, stating that any agreement related to Ukraine would only be made in a subsequent trilateral meeting involving Kyiv.

Putin is heading to Alaska on Friday at Trump’s invitation, marking his first visit to a Western country since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine that caused tens of thousands of deaths.

With Russia making territorial gains in Ukraine, the Kremlin indicated the presidents would hold a bilateral meeting, raising European leaders’ fears that Putin might drag the US president into a settlement imposed on Ukraine.

But Trump told reporters at the White House, “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.”

“If the meeting is bad, it will end very quickly, and if it is good, we will end up making peace in the near future,” he said.

Trump told Fox News that “this meeting sets the stage for the second meeting, but there is a 25 percent chance this meeting will not be successful.”

Previously, Trump expressed admiration for Putin and faced harsh criticism after their joint press conference following the 2018 Helsinki summit, where he sided with Russia against US intelligence conclusions by accepting Putin’s denial of interference in the 2016 US presidential election that brought Trump to power.

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

On the eve of the summit, Trump confirmed he would not make any deal with Putin and would involve the Ukrainian president in any decisions.

He added, “The second meeting will be very important because it will be the meeting where they make an agreement. I don’t want to use the word ‘sharing’ (territories), but you know, to some extent, it’s not a bad term.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said any future agreement must guarantee Ukraine’s security.

He said, “To achieve peace, I think we all realize that we will have to discuss security guarantees,” expressing optimism about the Alaska summit.

– Change in Trump’s Tone –

Trump previously boasted about his ability to end the war within 24 hours of returning to the White House in January.

However, his invitations to Putin and heavy pressure on Zelensky to agree to concessions failed to convince the Russian president. Trump warned of “very severe consequences” if Putin continued to ignore his efforts to stop the war.

Putin welcomed US efforts to end the conflict on Thursday and said talks might help reach a nuclear arms control agreement.

During a meeting with senior officials in Moscow, Putin said, “The US administration is making active and sincere efforts to end the fighting.”

Talks are scheduled to begin at 11:30 am (19:30 GMT) Friday at Elmendorf Air Force Base, a key US military facility in Alaska that plays a crucial role in monitoring Russia.

Russian presidential advisor Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow, “These talks will be bilateral, naturally with the participation of interpreters.”

– European Support for Zelensky –

Zelensky met Thursday in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who confirmed solidarity with Ukraine, following talks held Wednesday in Berlin where he also received support.

Meanwhile, Russia is making significant territorial gains in Ukraine.

On Thursday, Ukraine ordered the evacuation of families with children from the town of Druzhkivka and four nearby villages in an area where Russian forces have made rapid advances.

Russian forces made a rapid 10-kilometer advance on Tuesday in a narrow sector of the front line near the towns of Dobropillia and Druzhkivka.

This was the largest Russian advance in Ukrainian territory in over a year, according to an AFP analysis of data from the US Institute for the Study of War.

On the eve of the summit, Ukraine launched dozens of drones towards Russia, injuring several people and igniting fires at an oil refinery in the southern city of Volgograd.

Diplomatic efforts since the invasion have failed to reach any agreements beyond prisoner exchanges.

Moscow and Kyiv exchanged 84 prisoners of war from each side on Thursday, according to both parties.