Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin will benefit the most from Friday’s high stakes meeting with President Trump in Alaska.
“I believe that Putin will benefit from this, because what he is seeking, frankly, is photographs,” Zelensky told a small group of reporters at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv. “He needs a photo from a meeting with President Trump.”
Zelensky who will not be at Friday’s meeting, is hoping to steer Trump away from any talk of territorial concessions amid the ongoing war in Eastern Europe.
The president has sought to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, and he threatened potential economic sanctions against Putin if he does not agree to a ceasefire soon.
On Thursday, Trump did not rule out the possibility of a second meeting between the leaders, which would include Zelensky, whom he spoke with earlier this week ahead of the meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.
“If the three of us meet and don’t reach an agreement, then it is Ukraine and Russia that have not reached an agreement — not the United States,” Zelensky told the reporters. “And President Trump is not only a mediator here, he is in a winning position, because America succeeded in bringing the Russians and Ukrainians to the table.”
“It doesn’t matter that we are ready and they are not — all that is secondary. America appears strong, as it is,” he continued. “As for the outcome of this bilateral meeting in Alaska, I do not know. We will see it together, most likely.”
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