00:00There will be very severe consequences.
00:30Just one more day left. Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will be meeting tomorrow.
00:42It's all anyone can talk about. Both leaders will be flying to the IC capital of Alaska.
00:48They will meet at a military base in Anchorage.
00:51Now at first, everyone was downplaying the summit. Trump said it was a feeling out event.
00:57The White House called it a listening exercise.
01:01But one day out, things are heating up. The statements are getting sharper.
01:06The diplomacy is gathering pace and Trump is playing hardball.
01:10Yesterday he spoke to his European counterparts on the phone.
01:13President Zelensky was also on that call.
01:16And afterwards, Donald Trump gave a press conference. He struck a very different note.
01:20No more managing expectations. Trump issued an ultimatum to Russia.
01:24End the war or face severe consequences.
01:28Will Russia face any consequences if Vladimir Putin does not agree to stop the war after your meeting on Friday?
01:37Yes, they will.
01:38What will the consequences be?
01:39There will be consequences.
01:40Sanctions, tariffs?
01:41There will be. I don't have to say. There will be very severe consequences.
01:44That changed fast.
01:48How does a listening exercise end with severe consequences?
01:52Either Trump is confusing the agenda or he has changed his mind.
01:56And if it's the latter, if Trump has indeed changed his mind, then Europe may have played a role.
02:02Let's hit rewind now.
02:04Last week, Trump's special envoy visited Moscow.
02:06He met Putin for close to three hours.
02:08In those talks, Moscow made a proposal.
02:12Ukraine will cede land in the eastern Donbass region.
02:15In exchange, the front lines would be frozen.
02:19Apparently, Trump liked that proposal.
02:21He agreed to meet Putin and seal the deal.
02:24Later that week, Trump informed Zelensky about this plan.
02:27And that's when alarm bells rang.
02:30Ukraine launched a diplomatic offensive.
02:32Zelensky spoke to 30 world leaders in one week.
02:353-0. 30 leaders.
02:36His goal was to rally his allies.
02:40Basically, use Europe to shape Trump's mind.
02:44Which brings us to yesterday.
02:46All that diplomacy ended with a high-stakes phone call.
02:49European leaders and Zelensky spoke to Donald Trump.
02:52They conveyed three red lines.
02:531. No crucial decisions without Ukraine.
02:562. Peace must start with a ceasefire.
02:59And 3. Any deal would require security guarantees for Ukraine.
03:06But did they sway Donald Trump?
03:09Looks like they did.
03:11Trump says Russia will face severe consequences.
03:13He's also working on a trilateral summit.
03:16Him, Zelensky and Putin.
03:18If the first one goes okay, we'll have a quick second one.
03:23I would like to do it almost immediately.
03:25And we'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky.
03:31And myself, if they'd like to have me there.
03:33And that would be a meeting where maybe it could be absolutely worked.
03:40Trump's words have certainly changed.
03:42It makes you wonder what happened in that video call.
03:46Most European leaders were happy about it.
03:48Trump himself rated it 10 on 10.
03:51We heard some statements after the call.
03:52President Macron of France, Prime Minister Starmer of the UK, Chancellor Merz of Germany.
03:57All of them sounded optimistic.
03:59They presented a unified front to Donald Trump.
04:03The UK Prime Minister summed it up best.
04:06Firstly, and obviously, there could be no negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine.
04:11And that's been a long-standing principle of this group.
04:17And I know Vladimir is on the call and will be absolutely clear in relation to that.
04:22And along with that, the international borders cannot be and must not be changed by force.
04:32Zelensky attended the call in Berlin.
04:34After that, he flew to London.
04:35He met Prime Minister Starmer earlier today.
04:38Now, all of Europe has the same concern.
04:40That Trump will give in to Putin.
04:42That he will make significant concessions in Alaska.
04:46Zelensky also warned about that.
04:48He told Trump that Putin was bluffing.
04:52I told the President of the United States and all our European colleagues, Putin is bluffing.
04:57He is trying to put pressure on all fronts of the Ukrainian front ahead of the meeting in Alaska.
05:01Russia is trying to portray itself as capable of occupying the whole of Ukraine.
05:06This is undoubtedly their desire.
05:10The worry is understandable.
05:13In the past, Putin has played Trump.
05:16Just think back to their meeting in 2018.
05:18All the focus was on alleged Russian meddling in America.
05:20But Trump has made a full U-turn.
05:24He said he trusted Putin over his spy agencies.
05:29And Europe is basically fearing a repeat.
05:31But at this point, nothing is certain.
05:33A few months back, Trump was more optimistic about things.
05:37Remember, he promised to end the war in 24 hours.
05:40But he underestimated Putin.
05:42This time, he is being more careful.
05:44Reports say Trump is quizzing his aides about Putin.
05:46He wants to know if the Russian president has changed.
05:50I'm afraid he won't get a straight answer.
05:52The Kremlin is a tightly guarded enigma.
05:55Even U.S. officials have difficulty assessing Putin,
05:59which is why the summit is so unpredictable.
06:01Nobody knows what either side is bringing to the table.
06:05For instance, which Trump will we see in Alaska?
06:09The one who brags about his friendship with Putin
06:11or the one who is meticulously being briefed by Europe?
06:17Recent statements suggest that Trump will be tough.
06:21As for Putin, that's our next story.
06:25We'll see you next time.
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