Trump and Putin Leave Alaska Summit with Promise of Progress — But No Deal
Ryder Christ
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday described their high-stakes summit in Alaska as productive, signaling potential progress toward a Ukraine cease-fire but offering no concrete details and breaking with diplomatic tradition by declining to take questions from reporters afterward.
The closed-door talks, the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since Trump returned to the White House, lasted several hours and focused heavily on the war in Ukraine, NATO and U.S.-Russia relations. Few details were made public, but both leaders cast the discussions in positive terms.
Putin opened the joint briefing by acknowledging strained U.S.-Russia ties, a departure from protocol in which the American president typically speaks first when hosting a foreign counterpart. “Our negotiations have been held in a mutually respectful atmosphere,” he said, adding that the two nations “are close neighbors” across the Bering Strait and should work to “turn the page” in their relationship.
On Ukraine, Putin said ending the war requires eliminating “the primary cause of that conflict” and that any deal must “consider all legitimate concerns of Russia and reinstate a just balance of security in Europe and in the world on the whole.” He also warned Ukrainian and European leaders not to derail “emerging progress” and said “the security of Ukraine should be ensured.” At one point, Putin said the war “would not have happened” had Trump been president in 2022.
Trump called the meeting “extremely productive” and said “many points were agreed to,” but cautioned, “There is no deal until there is a deal. We did not get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.” He said he and Putin “made some headway” and “great progress” in their bilateral meeting, and that he would brief NATO leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and “other appropriate officials” in the coming days.
Neither leader disclosed the specifics of any agreements, and no enforcement mechanisms, timelines or cease-fire terms were announced. Putin reiterated that Ukraine’s security must be ensured but did not appear to back down from Russia’s core demands.
The meeting in Alaska carried symbolic weight, with both men invoking historical cooperation between their nations, including joint efforts during World War II. Trump also highlighted the potential to “stop thousands of people a week from being killed” in Ukraine, though he did not provide a source for the figure.
Looking ahead, Putin said he and Trump have developed “businesslike and trustworthy contact.” As the briefing concluded, the Russian leader extended an invitation: “Next time in Moscow,” to which Trump replied, “I could see it possibly happening.”
For now, the path to peace remains uncertain, but both leaders signaled they want to keep talking.