Trump threatens ‘severe’ consequences for Putin

Christian DatocAugust 15, 2025

President Donald Trump expressed optimism about his scheduled meeting with russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, emphasizing hopes for productive talks. However,Trump also warned that if the negotiations do not go well,the economic consequences for Russia would be “very severe.” He clarified that his motivation for engaging with Putin is to save lives and not personal gain, stating he does not need to do this and would prefer to focus on domestic issues.

Trump planned a brief visit to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, where he and Putin were expected to hold a private one-on-one meeting, followed by expanded bilateral talks and a joint press conference. This meeting marks their first in-person encounter since 2018 in finland.

While Trump aimed to facilitate a ceasefire discussion involving Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, he emphasized that he is not negotiating on behalf of ukraine. He intends to push Putin to end Russia’s recent military offensive. Trump claimed that without his presidency, Putin might have already taken over all of Ukraine.

Trump portrayed the meeting as a critical step toward peace efforts in the Ukraine conflict, stressing his role in bringing the leaders together to negotiate, while warning Putin about possible severe repercussions if progress is not made.

Trump threatens ‘severe’ consequences for Putin: ‘Not doing this for my health’

President Donald Trump voiced optimism that his Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska would be productive, but he threatened economic consequences should the talks not go as planned.

“It will be very severe,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “I’m not doing this for my health. OK? I don’t need it. I’d like to focus on our country, but I’m doing this to save a lot of lives. Yeah, very severe.”

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The president departed Washington early Friday morning and will only spend a handful of hours at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. Trump and Putin are expected to meet privately, one-on-one, before engaging in expanded bilateral talks and, finally, a bilateral press conference.

The two leaders last met in 2018 in Finland, and Trump told reporters Friday morning that he and Putin share “a good respect level, on both sides,” and that he hoped “something’s going to come” out of the day’s proceedings.

However, Trump stressed that he viewed the Friday meeting as a prelude to getting Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the same room to negotiate a ceasefire.

“They’ll be discussed,” Trump said of Putin’s demands to hold on to Crimea as a red line for a ceasefire, “but I’ve got to let Ukraine make that decision, and I think they’ll make a proper decision.”

“I’m not here to negotiate for Ukraine,” the president continued. “I’m here to get him at a table. Look, Vladimir Putin wanted to take all of Ukraine. If I wasn’t president, he would right now be taking all of Ukraine, but he’s not going to do it.”

Trump added that he planned to tell Putin to end Russia’s latest offensive, as forces have ramped up fighting in the days leading up to the summit.

Trump’s full comments are below.