Trump-Putin Alaska talks end after three hours; no Ukraine ceasefire deal reached, leaders call summit constructive. Photo/X.
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded nearly three hours of talks at Elmendorf Air Force Base on Friday. Despite extended discussions with senior advisers accompanying the two leaders, no agreement was reached on a ceasefire in Ukraine.
The two leaders exchanged a cordial greeting on the Anchorage tarmac, including two handshakes, before traveling together in Trump’s limousine to the summit venue.
Trump acknowledged that the talks did not produce a formal deal. “There is no deal until there’s a deal,” he said, adding that he needs to discuss with NATO leaders and European partners would continue and that any agreement would require their approval.
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While he remained cautiously optimistic, saying, “we have a very good chance of getting there,” the statement did not confirm any progress toward a Ukraine ceasefire.
Putin described the summit as “constructive,” held in an “atmosphere of mutual respect” and “quite useful.” He suggested some preliminary understanding had been reached, though no specifics were disclosed, “we expect that Kyiv and European capitals will perceive that constructively and won’t throw a wrench in the works and they will not make any attempts to use some backroom dealings, or to conduct provocations to torpedo the nascent progress,” Putin said.
He reiterated that Russia is “convinced” the “primary causes” of the Ukraine war must be addressed while acknowledging that “naturally, the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well.”
Putin said that Washington-Moscow ties are at their lowest since the Cold War, stating, “That’s not benefitting our countries and the world as a whole.” He stressed the importance of dialogue: “Sooner or later we had to move on from confrontation to dialogue … a personal meeting between heads of state has been long overdue.”
After delivering statements, Trump and Putin left the stage without taking questions from reporters. Fox News anchor Bret Baier remarked, “This joint news conference was anything but. We don’t have a sense of what is in this agreement, this deal.”
Russia’s ambassador to the US, Alexander Darchiev, confirmed that there were no major breakthroughs, “we are making efforts, we are working — so far there are no major breakthroughs and, apparently, there cannot be any. We are trying, primarily in the visa sphere. But you can see for yourself that changes are happening very, very slowly.”
The summit included senior advisers: Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff for Trump, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and adviser Yuri Ushakov for Putin. The meeting took place against the backdrop of heightened tensions over Ukraine and strained US-Russia relations.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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