Bid to end Ukraine war

Trump: Summit 'Is Feel-Out Meeting to Assess Putin's Ideas'

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President Donald Trump on Monday described his upcoming summit with Vladimir Putin as a "feel-out meeting" to gauge his ideas for ending the war in Ukraine, as European leaders rushed to ensure respect for Kyiv's interests.

Trump has invited his Russian counterpart to Alaska on Friday—the first face-to-face meeting between the two countries' presidents since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022—while criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for rejecting territorial concessions.

Fearing privately that Putin will team up with Trump to force unacceptable compromises, European leaders plan to speak separately today with both Zelensky and Trump.

The US president has spent the first months of his second term in office trying to broker peace in Ukraine—after boasting he could end the conflict in 24 hours—but multiple rounds of talks, phone calls, and diplomatic visits have failed to yield a breakthrough.