President Trump is preparing for his high-stakes summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska as pressure mounts for a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire. CBS News' Willie James Inman has more.

Washington

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

President Donald Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, aiming to negotiate a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Trump has stated that if the initial talks are productive, a subsequent meeting could include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

Trump has warned of 'severe consequences' for Russia if no progress is made, mentioning the possibility of further sanctions, including secondary sanctions on Russian trade partners. Both the U.S. and European leaders have reiterated their support for Ukraine and have dismissed the idea of land swaps, noting that neither Trump nor Zelenskyy has the authority to negotiate territorial changes. The summit is seen as a critical step in ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict.

Trump teases meeting with Putin, Zelenskyy if Alaska summit goes well

The highly anticipated face-to-face between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is less than 24 hours away. President Trump is now raising the stakes for that sit-down. According to Axios News, he reportedly told European leaders his goal for tomorrow is a ceasefire, but the meeting had been previously labeled as a, quote, feel-out meeting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will not have a seat at the table tomorrow. However, all eyes will be watching to see if these leaders can hash out an end to the years-long fighting in Ukraine. If all goes well, President Trump says a second meeting, including Zelensky, could be on the horizon. He warns Putin could face, quote, severe consequences. Will Russia face any consequences if Vladimir Putin does not agree to stop the war after your meeting on Friday? Yes, they will. What will the consequences be? There will be consequences. Sanctions? Tariffs? There will be, I don't have to say, there will be very severe consequences. Joining us live from Anchorage, Alaska, is our CBS News White House reporter, Willie James. Edmund Willie, thank you for joining us on 24-7 Today. The president mentioned severe consequences for Putin, but also a potential land swap. What specifics about this meeting are emerging at this time? Hey there, Amugo, good to be with you from Anchorage, Alaska. Well, the president not giving specifics there in terms of the punishment that Russia could face. But remember, the president announced weeks ago that Russia could potentially face those secondary sanctions, essentially sanctioning trade partners of Russia, like India for instance, which has already faced a steep incline in terms of the tariffs that it pays on its goods, the tariffs that are charged on Indian goods that are imported to the United States because the president says that India continues to purchase Russian energy, those tariffs now at 50%. It's unclear if the president will move forward to put more secondary sanctions or other sanctions on Russia, other secondary sanctions on trade partners. But a potential land swap is something that the president mentioned just several days ago. And really, the president of Ukraine, President Zelensky, threw cold water on that idea, essentially saying that he would not gift or reward the occupier, in this case, Russia. So it remains to be seen in terms of what will be discussed at this meeting. A ceasefire, of course, is the major goal for not only the U.S., but European allies of Ukraine as well, to get a ceasefire set to continue to negotiate. And the president mentioned that we could potentially see that meeting between Zelensky and Putin if tomorrow's sit-down with President Putin and President Trump is successful. But the president himself has mentioned this. White House officials have also telegraphed this, that the president wants to really fill out President Putin to see if he indeed wants peace. Because if he wants peace, they can set up meetings in the near future. President Trump could, of course, be involved in those meetings. But if not, the president says, essentially, that he is willing to walk away from all of this mutual. The president spoke with Zelensky and several European leaders just yesterday. So how does that discussion set the stage for tomorrow's summit? It really just lays the groundwork for what Zelensky and the other European leaders want to see come out of this meeting. The president described that meeting, that virtual call that took place, as a 10, essentially saying that it was a good meeting. We heard from European officials as well. We heard from Zelensky as well, that essentially part of the meeting, part of what was discussed was to get the U.S. and the European nations in alignment in terms of that security assistance for Ukraine, that no land deals or land swaps would be discussed at this meeting. It's important to point out that the president of the United States would have no authority in this case to authorize any type of land transfer with Ukraine. Russia, of course, could make that demand during this meeting, but that's not something that President Trump could, in fact, negotiate. In fact, President Zelensky of Ukraine says that he doesn't have the power to do this, that the constitution forbids him, the constitution of Ukraine, I should say, forbids him from doing this. But really, part of this is a buildup on the president's relationship with President Putin. We, of course, know that the president has soured in recent weeks on that relationship, expressing publicly his frustration with President Putin. So, Putin, of course, could perhaps work to try to get in the good graces of Trump, perhaps try to stop those sanctions. But at the same time, the president speaking with the Europeans, they laid the groundwork for some of those wants and demands that Ukraine has. In large part, a ceasefire, no land swaps discussed at this meeting, but a continuation of that support from the U.S. and European allies to support Ukraine after all of this is said and done. Yeah. We shall wait and see what happens tomorrow once that meeting takes place. CBS News White House reporter Willie James Edmund live in Anchorage, Alaska for us today. Thank you so much for your time. On Friday, CBS News will have live coverage all day from Alaska of President Trump's meeting with Russian President Putin. Plus, John Dickerson will anchor the evening news from Anchorage, along with Face the Nation anchor Margaret Brennan.

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Trump teases meeting with Putin, Zelenskyy if Alaska summit goes well

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Ukraine Invasion