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President Donald Trump kicked off the week meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders at the White House — just days after Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska — and said he has roughly two weeks to determine how the U.S. will proceed in the ongoing negotiations.
A primary focus of the meetings was discussing various security measures to prevent Russian aggression against Ukraine again, after the Trump administration reported that Putin was on board with permitting the U.S. and its European allies to provide additional protection for Ukraine, akin to protections included in NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense clause.
However, Trump said Tuesday that sending U.S. troops to Ukraine to bolster security in the region was off the table.
Meanwhile, Trump told reporters Friday that he’ll have a better sense of whether a deal that ends the conflict is feasible and what kind of actions the U.S. should take moving forward on negotiations in the coming weeks.
“We’ll see what happens. I think over the next two weeks, we’re going to find out which way it’s going to go,” Trump told reporters Friday.
“It’s going to be a very important decision,” Trump said. “And that’s whether or not it’s massive sanctions or massive tariffs, or both. Or do we do nothing and say, ‘It’s your fight?’”
Here’s what also happened this week:
Trump completes ride-along with police, National Guard
Trump also joined law enforcement and National Guard troops in Washington Thursday evening amid his administration’s federal takeover of the city and efforts to crackdown on crime.
“We’ve had some incredible results and results have come out and it’s like a different place,” Trump told the police and National Guard troops Thursday. “It’s like a different city.”
Vice President JD Vance visited National Guard troops in Washington’s Union Station Wednesday.
“We are seeing really substantial effects because these guys are busting their a–,” Vance said Wednesday.
“Right here in Union Station, you have vagrants, you have drug addicts, you have the chronically homeless, you have the mentally ill who harass, who threatened violence, who attacked families,” Vance said. “And they’ve done it for far too long. This should be a monument to American greatness.”
Trump initially mobilized 800 D.C. National Guard troops as part of his effort to reduce crime in Washington on Aug. 11. Since then, National Guard troops from Ohio, West Virginia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee also have been tapped to support the Trump administration’s effort.
FIFA World Cup draw to hit Washington
Trump also unveiled plans with FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the Oval Office Friday to hold the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center Dec. 5. During the event, FIFA will divyy up all the teams into 12 different groups.
“On Dec. 5 of this year, the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw will take place at the Kennedy Center. Some people refer to it as the Trump-Kennedy Center, but we’re not prepared to do that quite yet – maybe in a week or so,” Trump said.
“But right here in Washington, D.C., it’s a tremendous honor to bring the global event and this incredible group of people and these unbelievable athletes — the best athletes in the world — to the cultural center of our nation’s capital,” Trump said.
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