US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are all set for a crucial meeting in Alaska on the ongoing Ukraine conflict. But more than that, the meet up is important as Trump has threatened to impose more secondary tariffs on countries like India and China, if Russia doesn’t agree to the peace deal. Trump believes the continuous trade with some countries is what gives Moscow funds to continue the conflict.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived at a hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, for the meeting. What caught everyone’s eyes here was the ‘CC’ written as part of a larger word on Lavrov’s T-shirt.

The phrase appeared to be ‘CCCP’ which is Russian form of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics i.e. USSR or Soviet Union. The Russian Foreign Minister got out of the car and walked into the hotel while letters in black print on his white T-shirt were captured by the media.

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Lavrov reacts to Trump’s ‘25% chances’ remark

Lavrov was asked to respond to Donald Trump’s remark that there were “25% chances that the talks might fail”. He said they don’t estimate or make guesses on such issues.

“We never try to anticipate the outcome or make any guesses. What we do know, however, is that we have arguments we can contribute to the discussion and that our position is clear. In fact, a lot has been accomplished already,” the Russian leader told the media.

Lavrov wearing a USSR imprinted T-shirt sends a strong message to the world ahead of the meeting. Previously too, when Trump threatened to take steps against Moscow, the latter did not agree for a compromise on the Ukraine issue.

Russia was part of the USSR which disintegrated into 15 independent states, following the cold war.

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What Trump said ahead of meeting with Putin

Earlier, during an interview with Fox News Radio host Brian Kilmeade, Trump did the math stating that there’s a 25% chance that his Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin will end in failure. He added that a “more important” meeting could take place later with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“I think (Putin) wants to get it done. I really feel he wanted the whole thing. I think if it weren’t me, if it was somebody else, he would not be talking to anybody,” Trump said.

“I’m the toughest one that he’s ever had to deal with. He’s never had to deal with anybody like me,” the US President added.

He said if all goes well on Friday, he would perhaps stay back in Alaska to host a follow-up meeting having Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky part of it.