(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump has doubled down on the economic consequences Russia could face if President Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to a deal at Friday’s high-stakes summit in Alaska.
“It will be very severe. I’m not doing this for my health, okay? I don’t need it. I’d like to focus on our country. But I’m doing this to save a lot of lives,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he left for the face-to-face talks in Anchorage.
Trump has expressed uncertainty about whether the summit will lead to a ceasefire in Ukraine. On Thursday, he said there is a “25% chance” the meeting won’t be successful.
Both leaders and their representatives are set to meet Friday afternoon at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, a U.S. military installation located roughly equidistant — about 4,300 miles — from Moscow and Washington, D.C. It will mark the first time Putin has stepped on U.S. soil in nearly 10 years.
Watch: Air sirens in Ukraine as Trump heads to summit
As Air Force One departed Washington, D.C., on Friday, air raid sirens began ringing out in Ukraine as Russia carried out eleventh-hour attacks.
Land swaps will ‘be discussed’: Trump
Although Ukraine is on the outside looking in for Friday’s talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reiterated the U.S. must not reward Russia for its invasion of Ukraine — and emphasized his country will not part ways with any territory.
Trump confirmed to reporters that he and Putin will broach the possibility of land swaps, but no decisions will be made without Zelenskyy.
“They’ll be discussed, but I’ve got to let Ukraine make that decision. And I think they’ll make a proper decision, but I’m not here to negotiate for Ukraine,” Trump said Friday. “I’m here to get them at the table.”
He added that Putin originally wanted all of Ukraine — now, the Kremlin is gunning for the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
“If I wasn’t president, he would right now be taking all of Ukraine, but he’s not going to do it,” Trump said.
Trump, who is expected to be accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and other top officials, said Friday’s meeting, depending on its outcome, may lead to a second meeting that includes Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy: Trump-Putin meeting should lead to trilateral summit
Ahead of the meeting in Alaska, Zelenskyy said he was expecting an intelligence report on Putin’s intentions for the summit.
“The key thing is that this meeting should open up a real path toward a just peace and a substantive discussion between leaders in a trilateral format — Ukraine, the United States, and the Russian side,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media.
He added that it’s “time to end the war.”
Previously, Zelenskyy has expressed fears that Putin is attempting to deceive Trump and is using the trip as a photo-op. In the lead-up to Friday’s peace talks, Putin and other Russian officials have maintained their demands, which include Ukraine ceding territory and demilitarizing.
NewsNation’s Damita Menezes contributed to this report.
