SRINAGAR: The first high-profile meeting between former US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded Friday without yielding any concrete progress on ending the war in Ukraine, reports BBC.
The two leaders met for nearly two and a half hours at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, before delivering a brief joint statement. While both leaders described the talks as “productive,” they acknowledged that no agreement had been reached.
“We had an extremely productive meeting and many points were agreed to, there are just a very few that are left,” Trump told reporters. “We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.”
Putin, who received a red-carpet welcome and even rode with Trump in the presidential limousine to the venue, struck a lighter tone, thanking his host and suggesting their next meeting could be in Moscow. He praised historic US-Russia ties, recalling their cooperation during World War II, while also echoing Trump’s claim that the Ukraine war might not have occurred if he had won the 2020 election.
The summit featured Trump’s key aides, Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff alongside Putin’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and security adviser Yuri Ushakov.
Despite Trump’s push for a ceasefire or at least a commitment to peace talks, Putin made no such pledge. “We haven’t quite got there,” Trump admitted, as reported by RT adding, “there’s no deal until there’s a deal.”
The press conference, lasting less than 15 minutes, ended without any sign of a breakthrough, underscoring the challenges in bridging deep divisions over Ukraine.
