'We never try...': What Russia said on Trump's '25% chances of talks failing' remark ahead of Alaska meeting with Putin

Ahead of the high-stakes meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov interacted with the media in Anchorage on Friday (Aug 15) and confirmed he had visited Alaska before. When asked about US President Trump's remark suggesting a 25 per cent chance of talks failing, Lavrov said Russia avoids predicting outcomes but will present its clear position regarding the ongoing war with Ukraine. He highlighted that the Russian side has already made progress through discussions with Trump’s Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff. His statement also brushed aside reports claiming that Witkoff misunderstood statements made by Putin during his visit. Lavrov expressed hope for continued productive talks. When asked if he felt nervous, Lavrov simply replied, "What’s that?" indicating confidence.

“We never try to anticipate the outcome or make any guesses. What we do know, however, is that we have arguments we can contribute to the discussion and that our position is clear. We will present it. President Vladimir Putin has mentioned this fact. Steve Witkoff spoke on behalf of President Donald Trump. I hope that we will be able to continue this productive conversation tomorrow,” Lavrov said.

Trump-Putin Alaska meet

It was confirmed on Friday (Aug 8) that Trump will meet with Putin on August 15 to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. The US had proposed a tri-party meeting between Putin, Trump and Zelensky, but Putin expressed his reservations about the same. Trump has said that he would know within two minutes of the meeting with Putin if he is interested in ending the Russia-Ukraine war. The White House also said that meeting with Putin will be a ‘listening exercise’ for the US president. Moreover, a day ahead of the scheduled meeting in Alaska, Trump said that there is a 25 per cent chance that this meeting will not be a successful meeting, while emphasising that both leaders would have to meet a second time for a deal to be done. Notably, this will be the first in-person summit between Trump and Putin after their last meeting at the Helsinki Summit in 2018 in Finland. They met briefly at the 2019 G20 Summit in Osaka, but no formal summit was held.