U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that Russia will face “very severe consequences” if President Vladimir Putin does not agree to halt the war in Ukraine after their face-to-face meeting scheduled for Friday in Alaska. Trump made the comments to reporters at the Kennedy Center in Washington, declining to specify whether the measures would include additional sanctions, tariffs or other punitive steps. The warning followed a virtual conference call in which Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and leaders from France, Germany and other European nations discussed cease-fire prospects. French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump had been “very clear” that securing a cease-fire is Washington’s top objective, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz insisted that Kyiv must be included in any subsequent negotiations. Trump added that a second round of talks with Putin would hinge on progress at Friday’s meeting, to be held at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, and said he could seek a future trilateral session with Zelensky if conditions allow. The conflict, now in its fourth year, has recently seen Russian forces press for territorial gains in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.