US President Donald Trump has said it is very likely that a “quick second meeting” involving Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky will follow if the upcoming summit in Alaska on Friday proves constructive.

Speaking at the Kennedy Center in Washington and answering questions from reporters, Donald Trump said the first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin would have as its main goal to determine “where we are and what we are doing.” He said that if the meeting “goes well,” then a second meeting will soon follow, with the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, “and me, if they want me there.”

The US president clarified, however, that this second meeting is not a given. “There may not be a second meeting, because if I judge that it’s not appropriate to have it because I didn’t get the answers that I need to have, then we won’t have it,” he said.

During the press conference, Donald Trump was asked if Russia would face consequences if Vladimir Putin does not agree to stop the war in Ukraine after their meeting in Alaska.

“Yes, there will be. There will be consequences,” the US president replied unequivocally. Asked in clarification whether those consequences would involve sanctions or tariffs, Trump limited himself to saying: “I don’t have to say. There will be very serious consequences.”

The statement comes at a particularly critical juncture, as international expectations for a ceasefire in Ukraine remain high, but uncertainty about the outcome of the Alaska meeting is just as intense.