Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin ended nearly three hours of high-stakes talks in Alaska without any sign of a Ukraine ceasefire deal – raising questions over the trajectory of the war and the fate of European security.
“We've made some headway,” he added. “So there's no deal until there's a deal. I will call up Nato in a little while. I will call up the various people that I think are appropriate. And I'll, of course, call up President Zelensky and tell him about today's meeting.”
He added: “We had an extremely productive meeting and many points were agreed to. There are just a very few that are left. Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there. We didn't get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.”
Neither Putin nor Mr Trump used the word “ceasefire” in the short statements they made to the assembled media, before they shook hands and left the stage without taking questions.
There was no sign of what the major sticking point could have been although Putin said that Mr Trump had insisted on highlighting the importance of Ukraine’s security.
Putin said: “We're convinced that in order to make the settlement lasting and long term, we need to eliminate all the primary roots, the primary causes of that conflict. And we've said it multiple times, to consider all legitimate concerns of Russia and to reinstate a just balance of security in Europe and in the world on the whole. And I agree with President Trump, as he has said today, that naturally, the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well. Naturally, we are prepared to work on that.”
The Russian president looked the more confident of the two, speaking first and praising the US as a “close neighbour”. He even joked that the leaders’ next meeting would be in Moscow – to which Mr Trump awkwardly responded that the suggestion could get him into trouble.
Landing on US soil in Anchorage itself was a huge diplomatic coup for the Russian president, who has been isolated from world events by his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It was his first meeting with Mr Trump in seven years.
Posted by John3262005