He also took the opportunity to mention his long-awaited meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, scheduled for August 15 in Alaska. (This, despite his earlier statements that he would instead go to Russia.) On that date, Donald Trump had also made announcements in Washington. Answering reporters’ questions, the U.S. president — after calling his meeting with Putin “preliminary” — said he would quickly know whether an agreement with the Russian leader was possible. He expressed confidence that he could “put [Putin] in a room with Zelensky” to “solve” the Ukraine issue.

Commenting on the possibility of the Ukrainian president attending Friday’s meeting, Trump said it was possible, though he doubted his presence would produce meaningful results. In particular, he noted that Zelensky “has not been part of the process” so far, adding that the Ukrainian leader had participated in several meetings over the past three and a half years without significant progress. “He can go, but he’s been to a lot of meetings. It has been three and a half years without anything happening,” Trump said.

Referring to his meeting with Putin, Trump said he would know almost immediately if a deal was possible. “We will have a meeting with Vladimir Putin and, probably in the first couple of minutes, I will know exactly whether an agreement can be reached,” he said confidently. Asked how he would know so quickly, Trump replied, “I make deals.”

Later, Trump added that he believed a meeting between Putin and Zelensky was necessary. “Eventually, I’m going to put them both in a room. I’ll be there — or I won’t be there — and I think it will be resolved,” he said, leaving open the possibility of personally getting involved in the negotiations.

Despite his ambitious statements, the president tempered expectations for the upcoming meeting. “I expect to have a meeting with Putin that I think will be good, but it may be bad,” he said.

He also acknowledged that, depending on the outcome, he might withdraw from diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. “I may go and say good luck, and that will be the end of it. I can say it will not be resolved,” Trump said, explaining that he intended to “go and find out the terms” of a possible solution.

The meeting between the two leaders comes at a critical time, with both international relations and the situation in Ukraine remaining tense. Trump appears to be seeking a role in finding a peaceful solution, while remaining cautious about the results.