Donald Trump has spoken out from Air Force One to threaten Vladimir Putin with "very severe" consequences if the pair cannot hammer out a ceasefire deal in their Alaska showdown later today.
Fox News is reporting live from onboard the President's plane that Trump has sent a new warning to Putin of 'very severe' economic consequences if the Kremlin blocks the Ukraine peace process. This comes after he warned his Russian counterpart "not to mess around" with him on the eve of the crunch talks in Alaska. Mr Trump said Putin would "much rather... take over all of Ukraine" but urged him to take ceasefire negotiations seriously. He told reporters in the Oval Office: "I am president, and he's not going to mess around with me."
The leaders will convene in Anchorage at 11:30am local time (8.30pm BST) for a one-on-one discussion regarding peace in Ukraine, followed by a highly anticipated press conference. Mr Trump also claimed he would be able to determine whether Putin was serious about negotiations "probably in the first two minutes". If he is, there could be another meeting between the Russian president and Volodymyr Zelensky, notably absent from today's summit.
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