UPDATE - Trump says he's seeking 'immediate peace deal' with Putin rather than ceasefire

ADDS MORE DETAILS

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) -US President Donald Trump said Thursday he is more focused on achieving an immediate peace deal than a ceasefire when he meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the US state of Alaska on Friday to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war.

"I don't know that we're going to get an immediate ceasefire, but I think it's going to come," Trump told Fox Radio, adding: "I'm more interested in (an) immediate peace deal, getting peace fast."

Trump indicated he might call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a follow-up meeting depending on Friday's outcome, saying there were three possible locations, including perhaps remaining in Alaska, but did not name the other two.

When pressed about notifying Zelenskyy "to be ready to come" to a meeting, he said it "would certainly be convenient if we had a very good meeting" with Putin.

Trump added that if his meeting with Putin goes well, he would call Zelenskyy, "and let's get him over to wherever we're going to meet."

Trump expressed confidence in his approach, claiming Putin "knows I'm the toughest one he's ever had to deal with," while acknowledging a "25% chance that this meeting will not be a successful meeting."

He described Friday's summit as preparatory, saying: "The second meeting is going to be very, very important, because that's going to be the meeting where they make a deal."

Emphasizing that his role would be to facilitate rather than direct negotiations, he added that he would "let them negotiate their deal. I'm not going to negotiate their deal," he said.

Trump suggested that territorial negotiations would be involved. "I don't want to use the word divvy things up... but there will be a give-and-take as to boundaries, lands."

He also admitted that the conflict has proven more complex than anticipated. "This was going to be one of my easy ones (to stop), but it never works out that way. This turns out to be probably the most difficult."

The Alaska summit, set for Friday, aims to address the Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fourth year.