WASHINGTON — President Trump mentioned there’s a 25% likelihood that his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin will finish in failure.
Nonetheless, the dealmaker-in-chief insisted that he’s the one motive the Russian dictator is coming to the desk in an interview with Fox Radio host Brian Kilmeade.
“I believe [Putin] needs to get it accomplished. I actually really feel he wished the entire thing. I believe if it weren’t me, if it was someone else, he wouldn’t be speaking to anyone,” Trump mentioned.
“I’m the hardest one which he’s ever needed to take care of. He’s by no means needed to take care of anyone like me.”
Trump additionally mentioned {that a} profitable assembly on Friday may end in him staying in Alaska to host a follow-up assembly that includes Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I consider now he’s satisfied that he’s going to make a deal” to finish the long-running battle, the president continued, including that, “I’m going to know in a short time.”
Trump described the high-profile encounters as a preliminary step towards peace, saying, “I don’t know that we’re going to get a right away ceasefire, however I believe it’s going to come back.”
“Relying on what occurs with my assembly, I’m going to be calling the president, Zelensky, and let’s get him over to wherever we’re going to fulfill,” he informed Kilmeade.
“I don’t know the place we’re going to have the second assembly, however we’ve an concept of three completely different places and we’ll be together with the chance, as a result of it will be by far the simplest, of staying in Alaska,” he continued.
“If it’s a nasty assembly, I’m not calling anyone, I’m going dwelling.”
Many particulars of the Alaska summit stay unknown only a day forward of time, together with whether or not the leaders will collectively deal with the press afterward.
“I might say I’ll have a press convention in both occasion,” Trump mentioned.
“If it’s destructive, I’ll have a press convention to say that the battle goes to go on and these individuals are horribly going to proceed to shoot one another and kill one another, and I believe it’s a shame, and I’ll head again to Washington.
“Or I’ll have a press convention that’s optimistic.”
Trump acknowledged he has been overly optimistic prior to now.
“I’ve stopped six wars this 12 months. This was going to be considered one of my simple ones, however it by no means works out that means. This seems to be in all probability essentially the most troublesome,” he mentioned.
