President Donald Trump said Monday that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy “could” attend his summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday but expressed skepticism that it would make a difference in reaching a peace deal, APA reports citing CNN.
“He wasn’t a part of it. I would say he could go, but he’s been to a lot of meetings. You know, he’s been there for three and a half years. Nothing happened,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“We’re going to have a meeting with Vladimir Putin, and at the end of that meeting, probably in the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,” Trump said.
“How will you know that?” a reporter pressed.
“Because that’s what I do. I make deals,” Trump said.
The president later added that a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy would be necessary.
“Ultimately, I’m going to put the two of them in a room. I’ll be there, or I won’t be there, and I think it’ll get solved,” Trump said.
The president said that “there could be many definitions” of a good deal, but he also seemed to lower expectations ahead of Friday’s summit.
“I expect to have a meeting with Putin that I think it’ll be good, but it might be bad,” Trump said.
