Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday reaffirmed Russia’s stance on the Ukraine conflict is “clear and unambiguous” as he headed into the high-stakes summit with US President Donald Trump in Alaska. Lavrov told Russian state television after arriving in the US state for the talks, which seek to look at possible avenues to conclude the three-year war in Ukraine.
No Forecasts Before Negotiations
Reacting to queries regarding the forthcoming summit, Lavrov pointed out that Moscow would refrain from speculating on the result of the meeting.
“We never make predictions in advance,” he said, sporting a shirt with the Cyrillic characters spelling “USSR.” While noting that Russia’s position on Ukraine is strong, he declined to give details of the stance he would take.
“. our stance is unequivocal and transparent. We will articulate it,” Lavrov said, indicating that Moscow is set to let its demands be heard at the summit.
First-Ever Putin-Trump Summit Since Ukraine War
The Alaska summit is the first direct encounter between the Russian and US Presidents since hostilities commenced in February 2022. Although Trump has suggested a ‘land swap’ agreement between Moscow and Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has not been invited to the summit, has ruled out any such deal.
Despite not showing up, Zelensky voiced optimism about the US President’s participation in the negotiations. On Friday, he said that Ukraine is “hoping for the US President” to persuade Russia to stop the war it initiated.
Trump Forecasts Rapid Read of Summit Results
Donald Trump spoke with journalists at the White House on Thursday, and he would know within minutes of the meeting with Vladimir Putin if it would be fruitful, he said.
“We’re gonna find out where everybody stands. And I’ll know within the first two minutes, three minutes, four minutes or five minutes… whether or not we’re going to have a good meeting or a bad meeting. And if it’s a bad meeting, it’ll end very quickly. And if it’s a good meeting, we’re going to end up getting peace in the pretty near future,” he said.
Trump Repeats Assertions on Putin and Ukraine
Trump has always maintained that the war in Ukraine wouldn’t have escalated if he were still President in 2022. Addressing a gathering on Thursday, he stated that the war “should have never happened” and intimated that Putin would have attempted to seize all of Ukraine if not for his presidency.
“If I weren’t President, in my opinion, he would much prefer taking over all of Ukraine. But I am President, and he’s not going to mess with me,” Trump told.
The Alaskan summit is being followed closely by international observers, as it constitutes a rare direct conversation between Washington and Moscow in the midst of one of the most extended and destructive recent European conflicts. Analysts argue that the result could have implications not only for the direction of the Ukraine conflict but also for more general US-Russia relations in the coming months.
