Alex Ritson

What happens if a peace agreement is made?

And then there would be any reneging technically on anyone's part.

Would it be fair to say that the only way this meeting is going to achieve something is if President Trump comes out of it feeling like he's the winner?

Do you know, I'm going to engage directly on that because I don't think I actually know.

I think part of the...

reality with President Trump is that he is very adept at negotiations.

People can like him, they can loathe him.

He's not going to enter into negotiations unless he thinks there's something in it for the United States.

He said in the past that what it is about is stopping war in Ukraine.

But look, let's not forget, President Trump can't speak for President Putin.

What he might be able to do is to have a very, very good idea of any back-channel discussions, any direct conversations with President Putin as to where a compromise can be met.

Obviously, we know from President Zelensky being kicked out of the Oval Office earlier in the year after a high-profile bust-up with President Trump and J.D.

Vance, President Trump's vice president, that President Trump would certainly want to feel that he's won.

But ultimately, there is an awful lot riding on this one.

And President Trump, who speaks about having ended eight wars across the world, will be very keen to do anything that moves towards recognition for his peace efforts.

Surely the underlying problem here,

is that essentially the position between President Zelensky and President Putin is irreconcilable.

To a degree.

I mean, President Trump has spoken about his concerns that Ukraine's elections that would, in the normal run of things, have been held in May of 2024 haven't happened.

So we're expecting President Trump to raise the issue of elections in Ukraine.