President Trump said Friday he wouldn’t be negotiating for Ukraine at his summit in Alaska with with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while claiming the Russian leader would have taken all of Ukraine if he wasn’t in the Oval Office.
“Vladimir Putin wanted to take all of Ukraine. If I wasn’t president, he would right now be taking all of Ukraine,” Trump told reporters, speaking from Air Force One en route to Alaska.
“But he’s not going to do it.”
Asked if territory swaps were on the table, Trump said that would be up to Kyiv.
“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. I’m here to get them at a table,” Trump said.
The president also fielded a question about Ukraine’s reports of continued Russian strikes in the hours ahead of the meeting.
“I think they’re trying to negotiate. He’s trying to set a stage. I mean, in his mind, that helps him make a better deal. It actually hurts him. But in his mind, that helps him make a better deal,” Trump said. “I’ll be talking to him about it.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will notably be left out of the imminent U.S.-Russia meeting, but Trump has floated a follow-up with all three leaders.
Trump has forecast a “25 percent chance” his talks with Putin aren’t successful, and described his goal for the Friday meeting as being to “set the table for the next meeting.”
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