'Feel out meeting': Trump says he would know 'in first two minutes' if deal with Putin possible in Alaska talks

US President Donald Trump has said that the upcoming talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, are a “feel-out” meeting and that he would know “within two minutes” whether progress is possible or not.

Trump also said that in order to restore peace in the region, both Russia and Ukraine will have to cede parts of their territories. The US president is set to meet Putin later this week in Alaska.

“This is really a feel-out meeting," Trump said, adding that he would know “probably in the first two minutes” whether progress was possible.

Trump has taken a tougher approach toward Moscow by approving the delivery of more US weapons to Ukraine and warning of tariffs on countries that purchase Russian oil. However, concerns remain in Europe that he could still strike a deal requiring major concessions from Kyiv.

“I’m going to be telling him, ‘You’ve got to end this war. I’m going to go and see the parameters now. I may leave and say, ‘Good luck.’ And that’ll be the end. I may say, ‘This, this is not going to be settled,’” Trump said.

‘Land exchange to go on’

Trump has asserted that he will try to get some territories back for Ukraine during his meeting with Putin.

“Russia’s occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They occupied prime territory. We’re going to try to get some of that territory back for Ukraine. There’ll be some land swapping going on,” he said.

Three rounds of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have failed to bear fruit, and it remains unclear whether the Trump-Putin summit would bring peace any closer.

Russian bombardments have forced millions of people to flee their homes and have destroyed swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine. Putin has resisted multiple calls from the United States, Europe and Kyiv for a ceasefire.

European leaders to hold talks

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz plans to hold talks with the US and Ukrainian presidents and European leaders on Wednesday, two days ahead of a US-Russia summit in Alaska, his office said.

Merz’s office said Monday he would discuss the Ukraine war with leaders from “Finland, France, the UK, Italy, Poland, Ukraine, the heads of the European Commission and Council, the secretary general of NATO, as well as the US president and his deputy”.

They would discuss “further options to exert pressure on Russia” and the “preparation of possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security”, the statement said.

With inputs from agencies