Trump says he'll pursue Russia-Ukraine summit ahead of Putin talks

We begin in the United States, where President Donald Trump has said he'll hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week in Alaska.

The U.S. leader also said that following the talks, he would pursue a trilateral summit with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Lee Seung-jae reports.

U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed on Monday that he would be holding a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska.

Trump also raised the possibility of a trilateral summit involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his one-on-one talks with Putin.

However, he said while he would be available if needed, he'd prefer a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy.

While leaving open the possibility of a trilateral summit, President Trump stated that he would first hear Putin's thoughts and, potentially, share the details of the meeting with President Zelenskyy, the EU, and NATO leaders.

"I'm gonna meet with President Putin and we're going to see what he has in mind. And if it's a fair deal, I'll reveal it to the European Union leaders and to the NATO leaders, and also to President Zelensky. I think out of respect, I will call him first and then I'll call them after."

Meanwhile, during a press conference at the White House on Monday, Trump said he'll try to get some territory back for Ukraine during his meeting with Putin on Friday.

Trump stressed that Russia has occupied a "big portion of Ukraine."

The U.S. leader raised the possibility that both Russia and Ukraine would need to make some territorial concessions in order to work out a peace deal, saying that there could be "some swapping, changes in land."

However, Zelenskyy on Saturday shot down any chance of Ukraine giving up territory captured by Russia in the ongoing war.

In a video posted on X, Zelenskyy said that "Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier," adding that his country will not "reward Russia for what it has perpetrated."

Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.