WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump said he'd like Vladimir Putin to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "almost immediately" after his upcoming Alaskan summit with the Russian leader.

Trump, speaking to reporters on Aug.13 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., also said there would be “very severe consequences” if Putin does not agree to end the Ukraine war when they meet on Aug. 15. He has previously threatened to hit Russia with sanctions and tariffs if Putin does not end the fighting.

Trump said the summit with the Russian president would be "setting the table" for a possible Putin-Zelenskyy meeting that he might attend as well.

The president joined a call earlier on Aug. 13 with Zelenskyy and European leaders, two days before Trump's one-on-one summit with Putin in Alaska. Trump is trying to push Moscow into a peace deal that Kyiv and its allies fear will include the loss of significant territory seized by Russia in its three-year war on Ukraine.

"I would rate it a 10," Trump told reporters of the virtual meeting. "Very friendly."

Zelenskyy was in Berlin for the virtual conference hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that included the leaders of Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, Poland, the European Union and NATO. Vice President JD Vance was also expected to join the portion that included Trump.

"They are great people who want to see a deal done," Trump wrote earlier on Aug. 13 on Truth Social.

Trump is meeting with Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 15 without Zelenskyy or any leaders from European countries, who were expected to warn Trump against agreeing to Putin's demands.

Trump this week raised the idea of a "land swap" in which Ukraine would give up territory to Russia in a potential peace deal and said he was "a little bothered" by Zelenskyy arguing that doing so would violate his country's constitution.

He pledged then that he would not cut a deal in Zelenskyy's absence. But after their virtual meeting with Trump, European leaders drove their opposition to such a scenario home.

French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Germany's Merz said in a joint statement after a separate meeting with Zelenskyy and Vance that a peace agreement cannot be brokered without Ukraine.

In an X post, Zelenskyy said formats for possible future talks and meetings were discussed during the call with Trump. He emphasized that conversations about Ukraine and Europe "must be conducted together with Ukraine and Europe" and pushed for strong security guarantees.

"Pressure on Russia works. Peace has no alternative," Zelenskyy wrote.

The White House has sought to temper expectations about Trump's meeting with Putin, which comes after Trump has increasingly expressed frustration with the Russian leader's unwillingness to halt fighting in Ukraine. The White House said Putin requested the meeting, which is his first with a U.S. president since 2021.

"This is a listening exercise for the president," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Aug. 12. "This is for the president to go and to get a more firm and better understanding of how we can hopefully bring this war to an end."

This article has been updated with additional information.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump threatens Russia with 'severe consequences,' teases Zelenskyy-Putin meeting

Reporting by Joey Garrison and Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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