World

Trump-Putin summit in Alaska yields no deal on ending war in Ukraine

A highly anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday yielded no agreement to resolve war in Ukraine, though both leaders described the talks as productive.

During a brief appearance before the media following the nearly three-hour meeting in Alaska, the two leaders said they had made progress on unspecified issues. But they offered no details and took no questions, with the normally loquacious Trump ignoring shouted questions from reporters.

“We’ve made some headway,” Trump said, standing in front of a backdrop that read, “Pursuing Peace.”

“There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” he added.

The talks did not initially appear to have produced meaningful steps toward a ceasefire in the deadliest conflict in Europe in 80 years, a goal Trump had set ahead of the summit.

But simply sitting down face-to-face with the U.S. president represented a victory for Putin, who had been ostracized by Western leaders since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Following the summit, Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that he would hold off on imposing tariffs on China for buying Russian oil after making progress with Putin. He has targeted India, another major buyer of Russian crude, with an additional 25% tariff on U.S. imports.

“Because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that now,” Trump said of Chinese tariffs. “I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don’t have to think about that right now.”

Trump has also threatened sanctions on Moscow but has thus far not followed through, even after Putin ignored a Trump-imposed ceasefire deadline earlier this month.

In the Fox News interview, Trump also suggested a meeting would now be set up between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, which he might also attend. He gave no further details on who was organizing the meeting or when it might be.

Putin made no mention of meeting Zelenskiy when speaking to reporters earlier. He said he expected Ukraine and its European allies to accept the results of the U.S.-Russia negotiation constructively and not try to “disrupt the emerging progress.”

He also repeated Moscow’s long-held position that what Russia claims to be the “root causes” of the conflict must be eliminated to reach a long-term peace, a sign he remains resistant to a ceasefire.

Zelenskiy has ruled out formally handing Moscow any territory and is also seeking a security guarantee backed by the United States. Trump said he would call Zelenskiy and NATO leaders to update them on the Alaska talks.

The anticlimactic end to the closely watched summit was in stark contrast to the pomp and circumstance with which it began. When Putin arrived at an Air Force base in Alaska, a red carpet awaited him, where Trump greeted Putin warmly as U.S. military aircraft flew overhead.

Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court, accused of the war crime of deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Russia denies the allegations, and the Kremlin has dismissed the ICC warrant as null and void. Russia and the United States are not members of the court.

Zelenskiy, who was not invited to Alaska, and his European allies had feared Trump might sell out Ukraine by essentially freezing the conflict and recognizing – if only informally – Russian control over one-fifth of Ukraine.

Trump had sought to assuage such concerns on Friday ahead of the talks, saying he would let Ukraine decide on any possible territorial concessions.

The meeting also included U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Trump’s special envoy to Russia, Steve Witkoff; Russian foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov; and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Trump ended his remarks on Friday by telling Putin, “I’d like to thank you very much, and we’ll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon.”

“Next time in Moscow,” Putin responded. Trump said he might “get a little heat on that one” but that he could “possibly see it happening.

 

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