Trump cautious on Putin meeting

[Anchor]

President Trump stated that the upcoming U.S.-Russia summit this week will be a "preliminary exploration."

Lowering expectations significantly, President Trump said he would first meet with President Putin and then push for a trilateral meeting that includes Ukraine.

This is Lee Hwa-jin reporting from Paris.

[Report]

President Trump characterized the meeting with Russian President Putin on the 15th as a "preliminary exploration."

He aims to first confirm Putin's true intentions.

[Donald Trump/President of the United States: "Probably in the first two minutes I will know exactly whether or not a deal can be made. Because that's what I do. I make deals."]

Trump even mentioned the possibility of a negotiation breakdown, thereby lowering his own expectations for the summit.

He explained that after confirming Russia's conditions, he would push for a meeting that includes both Putin and Zelensky.

While Trump stated that creating an agreement is not his responsibility, he also mentioned the idea of recognizing Russia's occupied territories as a given fact.

He expressed dissatisfaction with Ukraine's stance against territorial concessions.

[Donald Trump/President of the United States: "There will be some swaping. There will be some changes in land. We're going to change the lines, the battle lines."]

Ukraine argued that Russia does not wish for an end to the war and that concessions cannot persuade a murderer.

[Volodymyr Zelensky/President of Ukraine: "Putin will package the talks with the U.S. as his personal victory. And he will continue to pressure Ukraine as before."]

Ukrainian and European leaders are scheduled to hold a video conference with Trump tomorrow.

They plan to engage in last-minute persuasion to prevent the unilateral acceptance of Putin's demands.

This is Lee Hwa-jin reporting for KBS News from Paris.