Trump says Putin 'won't mess around with me' in US-Russia talks - and hints at Starmer attending follow-up meeting

Speaking from the Oval Office at the White House, Mr Trump was asked whether Putin has a "strong hand" going into his face-to-face meeting with the Russian president.

He said: "If I weren't president, in my opinion, he would much rather take over all of Ukraine but I am president and he's not going to mess around with me."

Mr Trump said earlier on Thursday Putin will “make a deal” on the future of Ukraine in a second meeting following a crucial US-Russia summit in Alaska on Friday.

The US president said the deal could be struck following his initial meeting with Putin at a follow-up trilateral summit involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders from the so-called "coalition of the willing", including Keir Starmer.

The first meeting in Alaska will not involve Mr Zelenskyy - who has so far been excluded from US-Russia talks on Ukraine - nor will leaders from Europe be included.

Mr Trump said: "We have a meeting with President (Vladimir) Putin tomorrow, I think it's going to be a good meeting.

"But the more important meeting will be the second meeting that we're having. We're going to have a meeting with President Putin, President (Volodymyr) Zelensky, myself, and maybe we'll bring some of the some of the European leaders along. Maybe not."

He added: "I think President Putin will make peace. I think President Zelensky will make peace. We'll see if they can get along. And if they can it will be great.

"This meeting sets up the second meeting. The second meeting is going to be very, very important, because that’s going to be a meeting where they make a deal,” Mr Trump told Fox News Radio.

However, Mr Trump warned there is a 25 percent chance the first meeting doesn’t end well.

He indicated there would be “give and take” on boundaries and land in the follow-up meeting, adding that Friday will be like a “chess game”.

Read more: 'Putin is bluffing', Zelenskyy warns Trump ahead of US-Russia talks in Alaska

Read more: Tea and solidarity: Zelenskyy meets Starmer at Downing Street for crunch talks ahead of Trump-Putin Ukraine summit

The US president also suggested the option of hitting Russia with additional sanctions if the summit does not go as planned.

Earlier, Mr Trump suggested that “three different locations” are on the table for the second meeting, including potentially “staying in Alaska.”

“If it’s a bad meeting, I’m not calling anybody — I’m going home. … But if it’s a good meeting, I’m going to call President Zelensky and the European leaders,” Mr Trump said.

Sir Keir has been a key player in the "coaltion of the willing" and met Mr Zelensky in Downing Street today.

During a call with the US president and European allies on Wednesday, Sir Keir praised Mr Trump for his work to bring forward a "viable" chance of an end to the war.

But concerns have been raised over Mr Zelensky's exclusion from the meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Putin.

Speaking on Wednesday, Sir Keir said: "This meeting on Friday that President Trump is attending is hugely important.

"As I've said personally to President Trump for the three-and-a-bit years this conflict has been going on, we haven't got anywhere near a prospect of actually a viable solution, a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire.

"And now we do have that chance, because of the work of that the president has put in."

Sir Keir said the UK could impose further sanctions on Russia if the Kremlin fails to engage, and that Britain is already working on its next package of measures targeting Moscow.

"We're ready to support this, including from the plans we've already drawn up to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased," he told allies.

Sir Keir and European leaders have repeatedly said discussions about Ukraine should not happen without it, amid concerns the country is being sidelined in negotiations about its own future.