The "if" was doing some heavy lifting.

President Trump floated the idea of a second meeting, this one between Putin, Zelensky and possibly himself, "if" the Alaska summit goes well.

Speaking to European leaders earlier, in a virtual call he rated at "10" and "very friendly", he'd shared his intention to try to broker a ceasefire on Friday.

So, the strategy is crystallising - he will press for a trilateral meeting to discuss territory "if" he manages to secure a truce during the bilateral meeting.

But that begs the obvious question: what if he can't?

The US President is keeping his options open - rating the chance of a second meeting as "very good" but preparing the ground for failure too.

"There may be no second meeting because if I feel that it is not appropriate to have it because

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