Image Credit: The Guardian
US President Donald Trump has threatened Russia with "very severe" actions if it fails to end the war in Ukraine. Responding to a reporter's query at the Kennedy Centre on Wednesday, Trump said that Russia will be taken action against if it doesn't comply with an agreement for a ceasefire after his summit with Putin in Alaska.
The reporter asked - “Will Russia face any consequences if Vladimir Putin does not agree to stop the war after your meeting on Friday?”
Trump responded with a simple "yes, they will", adding that these consequences would range from tariffs to sanctions.
"I don't have to say. There will be severe consequences," POTUS added further.
Trump's comments have come before his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15.
Addressing journalists, the US president went on to say that he will make a case for a second meeting that will feature Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"If the first one goes okay, we'll have a quick second one. I would like to do it almost immediately, and we'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin, and President Zelensky and myself, if they'd like to have me there," said Trump.
The US president, however, added that the second meeting would not happen if he does not receive the responses he craves.
Trump's statement follows a virtual conference with European leaders, where French President Emmanuel Macron stated the US President was more concerned with a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Zelensky, in the same conference, informed the gathering that Putin "is bluffing" in preparation for the scheduled summit with Trump.
Zelensky further alleged that Putin “is trying to apply pressure ... on all sectors of the Ukrainian front” as part of an attempt to show that Russia is “capable of occupying all of Ukraine.”
Trump and Putin will meet on Friday, August 15. According to a report by AP, they will meet at a military base in Alaska.
According to AP, speaking on condition of anonymity, a White House official stated that the meeting would occur at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, an Anchorage, which was a key base during the height of the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union.
