Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska: Outcomes, plans and reactions

U.S. President Donald Trump has rated his high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska as “10” out of 10, declaring “very good progress” towards peace in Ukraine, while stressing “there’s no deal until there’s a deal.”

Speaking to Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Trump described discussions on August 15 in Anchorage as “a very warm meeting between two very important countries,” adding: “I think we’re pretty close to a deal. Now look, Ukraine has to agree to it.”

The two leaders met at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to seek ways to end the war, with Trump saying he aimed to “save a lot of lives” and expressing hope for a future ceasefire. Following the talks, he told reporters: “There were many, many points that we agreed on… A couple of big ones that we haven’t quite gotten there, but we’ve made some headway.”

Putin described the summit as held in a “constructive atmosphere of mutual respect.” Trump said both men “spoke very sincerely” and believes Putin “wants to see it [a deal] done.”

The next stage will involve calls between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and NATO leaders. “They’re fighting a big war machine, and we, I think, are close to a deal… but I don’t like saying it,” Trump told Hannity.

He revealed he is prepared to attend a potential meeting with Putin and Zelenskyy: “They’re going to set up a meeting now between President Zelenskyy and President Putin and myself, I guess… I want to make sure it gets done and we have a pretty good chance of getting it done.”

Putin also told reporters he could “confirm” Trump’s claim that the war would not have erupted under his presidency. Trump blamed the outbreak on “gross incompetence” under the Biden administration.

“If we get this solved, it’s a really big day because we’re going to save a lot of lives,” Trump said.

At a press conference, Vladimir Putin said the talks had taken place in a constructive atmosphere, with the settlement in Ukraine as the central topic.

Donald Trump stated that no deal had yet been reached and the sides had failed to reach an understanding on certain issues. At the same time, the negotiations in an expanded format and the working lunch were cancelled.

According to The New York Times, Russian President Vladimir Putin notched symbolic victories both before and after his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Before arriving in the United States for the first time in a decade, Putin was greeted with American fighter jets, a red carpet and a ride in “the Beast,” Trump’s armoured car — a sharp contrast to years of Western ostracism.

After the talks, he left without making major concessions, while preserving a warm rapport with Trump. In recent months, the U.S. president had grown frustrated with Putin, calling him “the hurdle to a cease-fire and an eventual peace deal to end the war in Ukraine,” telling reporters in July: “He’s very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”

On August 16, however, Trump showed no frustration, despite acknowledging no agreement had been reached.

Axios writes that Trump set a ceasefire as the goal for the summit, stating that although he and Putin concurred on most of the relevant issues, they failed to reach consensus on “the biggest one.” He added: “There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”

Putin, however, asserted that an “agreement” had been reached, without providing specifics. He called on “Kyiv and European capitals” to “perceive that constructively” and not “torpedo the nascent progress.”

Moreover, The Hill reported that President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin briefly met with the press after what Trump called a “productive” meeting that did not reach an agreement on Ukraine.

Bloomberg notes that the press conference followed the longest private meeting between the two leaders. Despite their lengthy discussions, neither leader provided clear details of what was discussed or indicated whether common ground had been reached. This situation is likely to heighten concern in European capitals and in Kyiv over an agreement that sidelines their role.

By Aghakazim Guliyev