U.S. President Donald Trump called his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin “extremely productive” but offered no details on any agreement toward a potential ceasefire in the war in Ukraine.
"There's no deal until there's a deal," President Trump told reporters after his approximately 3-hour meeting with Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.
President Trump and Putin gave brief remarks after the meeting, but took no questions.
While Putin acknowledged the human toll of the war in Ukraine, he also said, "We need to eliminate all the primary roots, the primary causes of that conflict."
The comment suggested he may not be prepared to immediately agree to a cease-fire with Ukraine under President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s leadership.
Trump said he planned to speak with Zelenskyy and European allies following the meeting, saying there were points of agreement but several issues remained unresolved.
President Trump has often claimed the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine would not have happened if he had been president at the time. During his remarks, Putin echoed that view, saying, "I can confirm that."
"I think that, overall, me and President Trump have built a very good, businesslike and trustworthy contact," Putin said. "And [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.
The abrupt end to the summit contrasted sharply with its ceremonial start. Shortly after arriving in Alaska, the two world leaders shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. A moment that drew attention online came when a B-2 stealth bomber flew overhead in an apparent show of U.S. military strength. Despite the display, the leaders rode together in the same vehicle to the meeting site, where they were joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, along with two of Putin's closest allies.
