The White House is lowering expectations for any breakthrough from President Trump’s summit Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin,using terms like “listening session” and “feel-out meeting” to describe the planned discussion about the war in Ukraine. Trump and other administration officials have indicated Friday’s summit in Alaska is not meant to be one that will bring an end to the fighting in Ukraine, which began in 2022 when Russian forces invaded the country.
The president and his team have also largely avoided predicting any deliverables that might come out of the meeting and noted that it will likely take a follow-up summit involving both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for any concrete progress to be made on a ceasefire.
“There’s a very good chance that we’re going to have a second meeting that will be more productive than the first,” Trump said Wednesday. “Because the first is I’m going to find out where we are and what we’re doing. ”The White House has steered clear of making any firm commitments about what will come out of Friday’s gathering in Anchorage, and details have been scarce as officials work to rapidly pull the event together on one week’s notice. The president himself has offered mixed signals about what will happen. (Read More)
