President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Anchorage at present to speak about Ukraine. Here is what to know.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet at present in Anchorage, Alaska, for a high-stakes summit aimed toward ending Russia’s warfare with Ukraine. In only a few minutes, we’ll communicate with former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul to get his tackle at present’s assembly. However first, let’s check out how we received right here.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Trump has mentioned that ending the warfare is his precedence.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And if it is a dangerous assembly, it’s going to finish in a short time. And if it is a good assembly, we will find yourself getting peace within the fairly close to future.
MARTIN: However Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not invited. That assembly, Trump says, may come subsequent.
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TRUMP: All I wish to do is ready the desk for the subsequent assembly, which ought to occur shortly. I might wish to see it occur in a short time, very shortly after this assembly.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR senior White Home correspondent Tamara Keith is in Anchorage. Tam, what’s anticipated for this massive summit?
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: This can all happen at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on the outskirts of Anchorage. The assembly is ready to start out at 11 a.m. native day out right here. That is 3 p.m. on the East Coast. Trump and Putin will first meet one-on-one. Trump has mentioned he can be feeling out Putin and whether or not he is severe about ending the warfare, after quite a few cellphone calls over the previous six months that basically have not moved the needle. Subsequent, they’re going to be joined by their advisers for a working lunch. And yesterday, the White Home mentioned that Trump and Putin will maintain a joint press convention.
MARTÍNEZ: Actually? OK. So I bear in mind their final joint press convention. That was – what? – in Helsinki, Finland, 2018, I consider, proper? I bear in mind it was broadly seen as a little bit of a humiliation for the U.S. on the time.
KEITH: Yeah. That summit occurred as a particular counsel was investigating Russian meddling within the 2016 presidential election. That investigation is one thing that Trump remains to be raging about. He calls it the Russia Russia Russia hoax. So throughout that joint press convention, Putin denied any election interference, and Trump appeared to take Putin’s aspect over that of the U.S. intelligence group. Trump confronted unbelievable backlash at house amongst Republicans and Democrats alike and finally walked again a few of what he mentioned. However now, seven years later, Trump says that summit was successful, and he’s positioning himself as uniquely in a position to deal with Putin.
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TRUMP: If I weren’t president, for my part, he would a lot slightly take off – take over all of Ukraine. However I’m president, and he is not going to fiddle with me.
KEITH: In 2018, when Trump met with Putin, the home political stakes for Trump had been fairly excessive, however Trump was targeted on terrorism and nuclear nonproliferation. Trying again, these had been a lot less complicated occasions. Now Putin is 4 years into the newest chapter of this warfare and is testing U.S. and European resolve.
MARTÍNEZ: Oh, for these less complicated occasions, Tam. All proper. So what does success seem like from this assembly at present?
KEITH: Trump has been all around the map when it comes to his expectations for the assembly. He is talked about the necessity to divvy up territory. That is one thing that Ukraine’s president has opposed. Trump hasn’t actually been exact in what he desires to see at present. And there are considerations that Trump could possibly be wooed by glad speak from Putin about financial cooperation or one thing else that Trump can name a win. However Trump has been rising more and more pissed off with Putin for saying he desires peace whereas persevering with to bomb civilians in Ukraine. He mentioned there could possibly be penalties for Russia if one thing significant does not occur right here at present. And a reminder that he has allowed the sale of highly effective weapons methods to NATO to assist Ukraine and has threatened to punish international locations like India for getting Russian oil. Now this assembly leaves an open query of what comes subsequent as Russia makes positive aspects on the battlefield.
MARTÍNEZ: That is NPR’s Tamara Keith in Anchorage. Tamara, thanks.
KEITH: You are welcome.
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