Trump made the comment in response to a question from a reporter after announcing this year's Kennedy Centre Honours recipients in Washington. He did not say what the consequences might be

The remark came soon after Trump consulted with European leaders, who said the president assured them he would make a priority of trying to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine when he meets with Putin on Friday in Anchorage

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined several of Kyiv's main allies in the virtual meeting with the US leader, and Zelenskyy told the group that Putin "is bluffing" ahead of the planned summit about Russia's ability to occupy all of Ukraine and shake off sanctions

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said afterward that ¿important decisions¿ could be made in Alaska, but he stressed that "fundamental European and Ukrainian security interests must be protected"

Merz convened Wednesday's meeting in an attempt to make sure European and Ukrainian leaders are heard ahead of the summit