US President Donald Trump has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that there will be "severe consequences" if Russia blocks peace efforts in Ukraine.

Speaking on Wednesday, Trump said that strong actions, possibly economic sanctions, could follow if his meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday does not bring results. He did not give details of what these consequences could be but said the talks were an important step towards a possible second meeting, this time with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also present.

Trump said, "If the first one goes okay, we’ll have a quick second one. I would like to do it almost immediately, and we’ll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelenskyy and myself, if they’d like to have me there."

The US president blamed the war in Ukraine on the previous administration, saying, "This is Biden's work; this is not my work. He got us into this thing. This war would have never happened if I were the president. But it is what it is. I am here to fix it."

He also talked about his record on stopping conflicts, saying, "If we can save a lot of lives, it will be a great thing. I have stopped five wars in the last six months. On top of that, we wiped out the nuclear capability of Iran, obliterated it."

Europe and Ukraine set conditions before Alaska talks

The warning came after a high-level virtual call between Trump, Zelenskyy, and European leaders hosted by Germany. They discussed clear conditions that must be followed in the Alaska talks.

Trump described the call as friendly, saying, "We had a very good call. He was on the call. President Zelenskyy was on the call. I would rate it a 10; very friendly."

French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump agreed that Ukrainian land cannot be given away without Kyiv’s permission. Macron also said Trump supported giving Ukraine security guarantees in any post-war deal.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the rule that borders must be respected should remain unchanged. "If there is no movement on the Russian side in Alaska, then the United States and we Europeans should increase the pressure," Merz said, adding that Trump "shares this position very extensively."

Kyiv warns of Putin’s strategy

The Alaska meeting is aimed at ending the war, which has now lasted nearly three and a half years, the largest conflict in Europe since World War II.

Zelenskyy, after travelling to Berlin for talks, warned allies that Putin’s latest military advances in eastern Ukraine were a strategy to pressure Kyiv. "I told the US president and all our European colleagues that Putin is bluffing about wanting to end the war," he said. "Russia is trying to show that it can occupy all of Ukraine, but this is an attempt to intimidate before the Alaska talks."

Russia, however, has shown no signs of changing its position. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexei Fadeev said Moscow’s demands are the same as last year.

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