Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Andrew Harnik
Topics: Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US News
Callum Jones
Topics: Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US News
Donald Trump has given Vladimir Putin an ominous warning on what could happen if the Russian president does not agree to a peace deal with Ukraine.
The POTUS met with Putin in Alaska last week (August 15) to discuss the potential for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, and while no agreement was reached, Trump left the meeting insisting that 'we have a very good chance of getting there'.
The Republican president met with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday (August 18) to talk about a ceasefire and finding long-lasting peace in Ukraine.
After his infamous solo visit to the Oval Office back in February, which saw Trump accuse the Ukrainian leader of 'gambling with World War 3', Zelenskyy was joined by the likes of French president Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer this time around.
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Starmer described the talks as 'good and constructive', adding: "There was a real sense of unity between the European leaders that were there, and President Trump and President Zelenskyy."
The UK prime minister highlighted 'two material outcomes' from the talks, firstly that the coalition of the willing 'will now work with the US' on security guarantees.
"That’s really important for security in Ukraine, for security in Europe, and for security in the UK," Starmer added.
Now, attentions turn back to Putin and a potential deal between both Ukraine and Russia to hopefully bring an end to the war, three-and-a-half years after it began.
Trump has said Putin would face a 'rough situation' if he did not co-operate in the peace process, and added that Zelenskyy would have to 'show some flexibility'.
"I hope President Putin is going to be good and if he’s not, that’s going to be a rough situation," Trump told Fox News. "And I hope that Zelenskyy, President Zelenskyy, will do what he has to do. He has to show some flexibility."
Trump went on to say Ukraine was 'not going to be a part of NATO', but European troops would deter any future Russian invasion.
"[Ukraine] are not going to be a part of NATO but we’ve got the European nations, so they’ll front-load it and they’ll have - some of them, France and Germany, a couple of them, the UK - they are going to have boots on the ground," the US president said.
"I don’t think it’s going to be a problem, to be honest. I think Putin is tired of it, I think they are all tired of it, but you never know.
"We are going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks, that I can tell you."