Washington, DC [US], August 14 : US President Donald Trump has expressed scepticism about his ability to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop targeting civilians in Ukraine during their upcoming meeting in Alaska.
When asked if he believed he could persuade Putin to halt such attacks, Trump said, "Well, I'll tell you what, I've had that conversation with him. I've had a lot of good conversations with him. Then I go home and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home or a rocket hit an apartment building and people are lying dead in the streets."
"So I guess the answer to that is no, because I've had this conversation. I want to end the war. It's Biden's war, but I want to end it. I'll be very proud to end this war, along with the five other wars I ended. But I guess the answer to that is probably no," the US President said.
Trump made the remarks during his visit to the Kennedy Center in Washington on Wednesday (local time).
He also warned 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.
The Alaska meeting aims to discuss a potential ceasefire and peace negotiations. Trump has proposed a second summit involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, contingent on meaningful progress toward ending the war.
"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...," Trump said.
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.