"Constructive conversation" that "did not result in an agreement." Trump met with Putin

"We agreed on many, many things," Donald Trump said during a joint press conference with Vladimir Putin. "I would say we didn't completely agree on some important issues, but we made some progress. There's no agreement until everything is agreed upon," he said.

The joint press conference lasted only a few minutes and both leaders did not answer journalists' questions afterward.

It is unclear whether the talks made significant progress toward a ceasefire in Ukraine, a goal Trump set at the beginning of the meeting.

In a short statement, Putin said he expected Ukraine and its European allies to accept the results of the negotiations between the US and Russia, warning them against "torpedoing" progress toward resolving the conflict.

Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Putin argued that "Ukraine's security must undoubtedly be ensured and Russia is ready to work on this."

Trump announced that he would call President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO leaders to update them on the progress of his talks with Putin.

Trump and Putin, along with their top foreign policy advisers, held talks in a meeting room at an air base in Anchorage, Alaska. It was their first meeting since 2019. The words "Striving for Peace" were displayed on a blue background behind them. Initially, the meeting was scheduled to be private, but an hour before the meeting, it was announced that the leaders would be accompanied by their closest aides. Also participating in the talks were U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump's special envoy to Russia Steve Witkoff, Russian foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Photo: Sputnik/Sergey Bobylev/REUTERS

The publicly stated goal of the talks for Trump was to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine and commit Putin to a quick meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate an end to the war.

Zelensky, who was not invited to the summit, and Kyiv's European allies feared Trump could sell out Ukraine , essentially freezing the conflict and recognizing – even if informally – Russian control over one-fifth of the occupied country's territory.

Trump sought to allay these concerns by boarding Air Force One and declaring that he would leave it up to Ukraine to decide on any territorial concessions.

– I am not here to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine, I am here to bring about talks – he declared.

Asked what would make the meeting a success, he told reporters: "I want to see a ceasefire quickly... I won't be happy if it doesn't happen today... I want the killing to stop."

Zelensky has ruled out handing over any territory to Russia and is also demanding a security guarantee backed by the United States.

After landing in Alaska, Trump greeted Putin on the red carpet at the airport. The two leaders shook hands before getting into Trump's limousine and heading to the summit venue.

Photo: Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Reuters

For Putin, the US summit is already a major victory, which he can present as proof that the West's long-standing attempts to isolate Russia have failed, and Moscow is regaining its rightful place at the international table.

Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crime charges related to the deportation of hundreds of children from Ukraine. Russia denies the allegations, and the Kremlin has deemed the ICC arrest warrant invalid. Russia and the United States are not members of the tribunal.

Trump, who has previously insisted he would end Russia's war in Ukraine within 24 hours, admitted on Thursday that it had proven more difficult than he expected. He said that if Friday's talks went well, arranging a second trilateral summit with Zelensky sooner would be more important than his meeting with Putin.

Zelensky said Friday's summit should open the way to a "just peace" and trilateral talks with his participation, but added that Russia was still waging war.