Dubai, United Arab Emirates – The summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was held on Friday in the state of Alaska. It did not result in any agreement to reach a solution or stop the war in Ukraine. Although, the two leaders described the talks as “fruitful”.
During a brief appearance before the media following the meeting, which lasted about three hours, the two leaders said they had made progress on “unspecified issues”. However, they did not provide any details. They also did not receive questions from journalists.
Trump, who usually makes long statements, simply said: “We have made some progress.. There is no agreement until an agreement is reached.”
Has a ceasefire been reached?
The talks did not result in any concrete steps to cease fire in the conflict. Trump described this as the main goal of his meeting with Putin. He noted that the conflict is the bloodiest war Europe has witnessed in 80 years.
Despite the lack of practical results, the face-to-face meeting with the US president represented a political gain for Putin. He has faced isolation from Western leaders since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In subsequent statements to Fox News, Trump announced he would postpone imposing customs duties on China due to its purchase of Russian oil. This was after making “progress” in his talks with Putin. He added: “I may have to think about that in two or three weeks, but not now”.
He also threatened to impose sanctions on Moscow, but has not implemented them yet. This was despite Putin ignoring a previous deadline set by Trump for a ceasefire.
Trump suggested holding a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and perhaps attending it himself. However, he did not clarify who would organize the meeting or its date.
Putin, in turn, did not refer to this proposal. He stressed that he expects Ukraine and its European allies to deal “constructively” with the results of the negotiations. They should not try to “obstruct progress”.
Putin reiterated Moscow’s adherence to its position. He believes the “root causes” of the conflict must be addressed before reaching a lasting peace. This indicates its continued rejection of a ceasefire at the current stage.
There has been no response from Kiev so far to the summit. It is the first meeting between Putin and an American president since the outbreak of war.
When asked about his advice to Zelensky, Trump said: “We have to make a deal.. “Russia is a very big power, and they are not,” he said, referring to the unequal balance of power.
According to analysts, the war has killed or injured more than a million people on both sides. This includes thousands of Ukrainian civilians.
Zelensky: We depend on America
Zelensky, who was not at the summit, feared that Trump would abandon Ukraine by effectively freezing the conflict. He worries it might lead to recognizing – albeit informally – Russia’s control over about a fifth of his country’s territory.
But Trump confirmed before the meeting that he would leave it to Ukraine. They should decide on any concessions. He said: “I am not here to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine, I am here to make them sit at the negotiating table”.
When asked about the criteria for the summit’s success, he said: “I want a quick ceasefire.. I wouldn’t be happy if that didn’t happen today. I want the killing to stop.”
The talks were attended by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy to Russia Steve Witkov, Russian Foreign Policy Advisor Yuri Ushakov, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Trump, who said during his campaign that he would end the Ukrainian war within 24 hours, admitted that the task was more difficult than he expected.
He stressed that the success of the Alaska talks would make arranging a second trilateral summit with Zelensky more important than his meeting with Putin.
At the end of the summit, Trump told Putin: “I would like to thank you very much, and we will talk to you very soon, and we may meet again very soon,” to which Putin replied: “Next time in Moscow.”
Zelensky said before the summit that the meeting should pave the way for a “just peace” and tripartite talks. However, he stressed that Russia was still continuing its military operations.
“It is time to end the war, and Russia must take the necessary steps,” he wrote on Telegram. We depend on America.”
