Jonathan Kearsley: US Correspondent discusses the build up to Trump-Putin summit.

US President Donald Trump is due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska tomorrow. 

This is the first time a Russian leader has been on US soil in more than a decade.  

Donald Trump has made it clear on many occasions that he wants to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine. 

US Correspondent Jonathan Kearsley  told Heather duPlessis-Allan that, “He wants to be seen as a peacemaker president.” 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Jonathan Kursley, US corresponding with us A Jonathan.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
O. I've known to everybody across New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Now tell me what you'll take is. We've got this
meeting in less than fifteen hours. Now do you think
this is going to be a bust or are we
going to get something out of it?

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Donald Trump's going to want something out of it, but
it's hard to see how he gets anything out of
it without Voladimir Zelensky at the table, because Ukraine's made
its position abundantly clear that it's not going to hand
over anything without actually being present. I mean, under Ukrainian law,
any sort of ceasepy deal has to go through their
parliament anyway. So it's hard to see exactly what comes

(00:39):
out of the summer that is now due in just
a matter of hours time. Donald Trump will leave, will
leave for Anchorage, Vladimir Putin will arrive, They will hold
these talks. They will then disappear in inside their delegations,
and then, according to Russian media, there are plans for
a joint media conference. It cast your mind back to

(00:59):
Helsinki summit back in twenty eighteen. The two of them
stood side by side at a joint press conference. Then
that was the last time they have done so. And
on that occasion, Donald Trump sided with Vladimir Putin rather
than the CIA as to whether or not Russia had
interfered in the twenty sixteen election. So there's going to
be a lot of eyes if that press conference goes
ahead on the body language between the two, the answers

(01:21):
to the various questions that they may give. But I
think crucially you've got to watch this one on one summit. First,
they will have interpreters in the room. What is the
exchange going to be like between them or the cameras
are there? The handshake takes place, This is just an
extraordinary moment in history because here you have, for the
first time in a decade or so, a Russian president

(01:42):
on American soil. It is quite simply extraordinary, given too
that the ICC warrants that are out against Vladimir Putin
means he can't go to other various countries. The United
States doesn't recognize the ICC. So they've allowed him in
to hear and they're welcoming him to Alaska, which I mean,
if you ever look at them mainland between Alaska and Russia,
you can see the geography reason as to why they've

(02:04):
picked this venue. It's some eighty five kilometers from the
edge of Alaska to the edge of Russia. But it
is going to be critical this meeting tomorrow. But it's
hard to see what conclusions can come out of it
unless Donald Trump can get something specific from Vladimir Putin
that he can very quickly get to voladimirs Alenski, in
which case this talk of the second summit, well, that

(02:26):
may take place, and that is going to be the
critical juncture because that is when Ukraine is going to
have a seat at the table, and that is when
and imagine the optics of that voladimires Alenski, Vladimir put
and Donald Trump all in the same room, staring at
each other from across a table or from across wherever
they may be seated or standing. It is just going
to be quite simply extraordinary because there's plenty at stake

(02:48):
in this, for Ukraine, for Europe, for the United States,
and for much of the world too. Because you can
imagine China is going to be watching the outcome of
this very very closely with its plans to want to
retake completely control. So one Yeah.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
Absolutely, that's a very fair point, do you think. I mean,
we've laughed about the fact that Donald Trump wants the
Nobel Peace Prize, but if he manages to broke receease
fire deal here, does he actually deserve it.

Speaker 2 (03:12):
If he can end the Russia Ukraine War, then I
think he would very much firmly have a footing on
a nomination at least anyway and seriously been considered by
the Nobel Peace Prize committee. He says he is a peacemaker,
a deal maker. He says that he has ended six
conflicts since his presidency began, but ultimately there are two

(03:34):
he had his heart set on two. He had his
mindset on Russia Ukraine he said he could solve in
twenty four hours, and the conflict between Israeli Jamas. Neither
of those have been resolved as of yet. So those
are clearly conflicts that he wants to look into. This
is why you've seen him look at issues between other
nations in Africa, between India and Pakistan. He wants to

(03:55):
be seen as a peacemaker president. This is clearly the
legacy that he wants to get. Give the question, really,
I think in the short term is going to be
Can this conflict somehow find a way to an end,
because ultimately Vladimir Putin is also going to try and
sweep talk Donald Trump. He's going to try and get
something out of him. He knows that he's got to

(04:16):
up his own game against the American president who's expressed
his own frustrations with him. So there's going to be
have to be a little bit of give and take.
The question is, though, what is Donald Trump prepared to
give and what is he going to take to Ukraine
and to Europe? Is the outcome of whatever this summit
comes to tomorrow?

Speaker 1 (04:34):
Yeah, hey, very quickly? Were you? Were you absolutely thrilled
with what Tata announced?

Speaker 2 (04:39):
Tata's announcement was astonishing, wasn't it that? I think we've
got twelve tracks on the album. We've got October three
market in your calendar's swifties you already have, and then
imagine yourselves another tour, maybe maybe an era's documentary. Can
we see that in the works?

Speaker 1 (04:55):
Who knew? Who knew? That you went over there and
you've come back. Yeah, you're going to come back. A
Taito fan, Thank you so much, Jonathan, appreciate it. Jonathan
Kearsley US Correspondence.

Speaker 2 (05:04):
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