Trump and Putin conclude summit without reaching Ukraine agreement

Trump and Putin End Summit Without Ukraine Breakthrough

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin wrapped up their high-stakes summit in Alaska on Friday without securing a breakthrough on Ukraine, instead stressing areas of “progress” and reviving personal rapport while leaving a ceasefire off the table.

Trump, who prides himself on deal-making, welcomed Putin with full honors at a US air base — the Russian leader’s first visit to Western soil since ordering the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. After three hours of talks with aides, the two leaders appeared together for a brief 12-minute statement, offering warm words but taking no questions — unusual for the media-savvy former US president.

“We’re not there yet, but we’ve made progress. There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said, describing the meeting as “extremely productive” without disclosing specifics. He hinted that only “a very few” points of contention remain, one of them “the most significant.”

Putin echoed him in broad terms, expressing hope that their “understanding” would help pave the way to peace in Ukraine. With a smile, he suggested: “Next time in Moscow.”

Putin, seeking to flatter Trump, claimed the Ukraine war would never have begun had Trump been in office instead of Joe Biden. Trump, in turn, repeated his dismissal of US intelligence findings that Russia interfered in the 2016 election as a “hoax.”

The cordial tone contrasted sharply with Trump’s earlier criticisms of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he met in February. Though Trump said he wanted a three-way meeting, no such arrangement was announced. He later told Fox News: “Now it’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done,” while vowing consultations with NATO leaders wary of his outreach to Moscow.

Putin warned Ukraine and Europe not to “disrupt progress through provocations or behind-the-scenes intrigues.”

The summit featured choreographed symbolism: both leaders arriving in presidential jets, Trump applauding as Putin stepped off the plane, a B-2 bomber flying overhead, and Trump personally escorting Putin into “The Beast,” his armored limousine. They met in a room emblazoned with the slogan “Pursuing Peace.”

Putin, wanted by the International Criminal Court over the war in Ukraine, was seen grinning as he mingled with Russian journalists. The summit came amid fresh battlefield developments, with Russia claiming new gains even as Ukraine announced the recapture of several villages.

Mindful of criticism from his 2018 Helsinki summit, Trump kept Secretary of State Marco Rubio and envoy Steve Witkoff at his side, scrapping a planned one-on-one. Zelensky, excluded from the talks, reiterated his refusal to cede territory and urged: “It is time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America.”