The US president has been fluid on what the meeting in Alaska on Friday can really achieve.<\/b>
\nThe \u00ab\u00a0if\u00a0\u00bb was doing some heavy lifting.
Mr Trump floated the idea of a second meeting, this one between Putin, Zelenskyy and possibly himself, \u00ab\u00a0if\u00a0\u00bb the Alaska summit goes well.
Speaking to European leaders earlier, in a virtual call he rated at \u00ab\u00a010\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0very friendly\u00a0\u00bb, he’d shared his intention to try to broker a ceasefire on Friday.
So, the strategy is crystallising – he will press for a trilateral meeting to discuss territory \u00ab\u00a0if\u00a0\u00bb he manages to secure a truce during the bilateral meeting.
But that begs the obvious question: what if he can’t?
The US president is keeping his options open – rating the chance of a second meeting as \u00ab\u00a0very good\u00a0\u00bb but preparing the ground for failure too.
\u00ab\u00a0There may be no second meeting because if I feel that it is not appropriate to have it because I didn’t get the answers that we have to have, then we’re not going to have a second meeting\u00a0\u00bb, he said.
Unusually, given how often he talks about his abilities, he conceded that he may not persuade Vladimir Putin to stop targeting civilians.
But without elaborating on what any sanctions might be, he warned that Russia would face \u00ab\u00a0very severe consequences\u00a0\u00bb if it doesn’t end the war.
Even if he achieves the seemingly impossible – a halt to the fighting – there seems little chance of agreement on any swapping of territory.
Mr Zelenskyy has told Mr Trump that Putin \u00ab\u00a0is bluffing\u00a0\u00bb and wants to \u00ab\u00a0push forward along the whole front\u00a0\u00bb not return land.
In the space of a week, Donald Trump has gone from talking about a land-swapping deal, to a \u00ab\u00a0listening exercise\u00a0\u00bb, to the potential for a ceasefire.
His expectations appear changeable, an indication of how fluid back-room negotiations are in the run-up to his first face-to-face with Vladimir Putin in six years.
He described Friday’s summit as \u00ab\u00a0setting the table for a second meeting\u00a0\u00bb, but that’s presumptuous when the meal – or deal – isn’t cooked yet.<\/p>\n