The art of the ‘no deal’: How the Trump-Putin meeting unfolded
By Michael Koziol
Anchorage, Alaska: US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin ended their historic summit early and without a final deal to pave the way to ending the war in Ukraine, despite talks that both sides described as constructive.
At a joint press conference in Alaska, Trump said the two men agreed on many points but some roadblocks remained, including a “couple of big ones” where they were still short of agreement.
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump arrive for their press conference in Alaska.Credit: AP
“There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” he said. “We really made some great progress today … We didn’t get there but we have a very good chance of getting there.”
Trump was on a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “and others” as Air Force One landed back in Washington at 2am local time, his aide Dan Scavino said. The president noted earlier it was ultimately up to Zelensky and European leaders whether to accept any terms of a ceasefire or other agreement.
Having cast the face-to-face meeting as an opportunity to gauge Putin’s desire to end the fighting, Trump said he believes the Russian leader “wants to see that as much as I do”.
Putin mentioned agreements that he said would be a starting point for resolving the “Ukrainian issue” but provided no details, and the two men did not take questions after being on stage for a little over 10 minutes.
The Russian president spoke first, for eight minutes, mostly about US and Russian efforts during World War II and the need for both countries to “turn the page” on their relationship and “go back to co-operation”.
On Ukraine, Putin thanked Trump for striving to understand the situation, and claimed the war was about addressing “fundamental threats to our security”. He said he agreed with Trump that “the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well”.
“I have every reason to believe that moving down this path we can come – and the sooner the better – to the end of the conflict in Ukraine,” Putin said, according to the official translator.
The planned one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin was expanded to include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, as well as Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, a former Russian ambassador to the United States.
Trump leaves Alaska after his meeting with Putin.Credit: AP
That meeting lasted about 2½ hours, and a mooted working lunch featuring other cabinet ministers was scrapped. Putin’s jet departed Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage after just over five hours on the ground.
At the end of the press conference, Trump said he would speak to Putin again soon and probably see him again soon. Putin replied, in English: “Next time in Moscow.”
Trump responded: “Oh, that’s an interesting one. I don’t know, I’ll get a little heat on that one, but I can see it possibly happening.”
There was no public commitment to a second meeting that would include Zelensky.
Hours after the meeting ended, Ukraine’s air force said that Russia had launched 85 attack drones and ballistic missiles on Ukraine overnight, according to Reuters. The news agency also reported that Russia had destroyed 29 Ukrainian drones.
Putin suggested his next meeting with Trump should take place in Moscow.Credit: Bloomberg
Soon after leaving the meeting, Trump told Fox News his advice to Zelensky would be to “make a deal”.
“Russia is a very big power and they [Ukraine] are not. They’re great soldiers,” Trump said.
The encounter between Putin and Trump marked the first time the Russian president has met a sitting US president since he met Joe Biden in 2021, months before Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The main bilateral meeting lasted 2½ hours but a working lunch was cancelled.Credit: AP
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin that would make him liable for arrest in more than 120 countries. But on Friday (Saturday AEST) he was welcomed on American soil with a handshake from Trump, a photo opportunity and a short ride on the tarmac in the presidential car, the Beast.
There was no immediate public response from Zelensky, and the news conference occurred in the middle of the night, European time. But in an earlier video message he criticised ongoing Russian strikes on Ukraine, even as Putin departed for Alaska.
“On the day of negotiations they are killing as well, and that speaks volumes,” Zelensky said. “Ukraine is ready to work as productively as possible to bring the war to an end and we count on a strong position from America. Everything will depend on this – the Russians factor in American strength.”
John Herbst, a former US ambassador to Ukraine who is now senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Centre, said he would withhold judgment until details of the meeting were reported and confirmed.
Putin spent just over five hours on the ground at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.Credit: AP
Television network Newsmax reported Putin had dropped his objection to teaching the Ukrainian language in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine, and that discussions would continue about how to implement a ceasefire.
“If you go simply by what we saw at the very, very brief, un-Trump-like press conference, it looked like he really didn’t get anything from Putin to justify calling it a productive meeting,” Herbst said.
He said it looked as though Russia was set to escape further US sanctions, which would be a victory for Putin.
Democratic senator from Maryland Chris Van Hollen said on X: “Once again Trump appears to have been played by Putin. No ceasefire. No imminent meeting between Putin and Zelensky. No near term prospect of Trump applying threatened sanctions.”
Dora Chomiak, the chief executive of US-based Ukrainian charity Razom, said Putin remained the sole obstacle to peace.
“The idea that Putin believes there is a positive deal for him in the near future is deeply alarming,” she said in Anchorage.
“Justice requires that any ‘agreement’ made without Ukraine be rejected. This isn’t ‘the Ukrainian problem’ but the Russian problem. This is Russia’s war, and Russia decides when to end its invasion.”
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