President Donald Trump left the world hanging announcing no details and answering no questions about his ‘extremely productive meeting’ with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the future of Ukraine.
What was clear was that there was no immediate ceasefire or peace deal to end the Ukraine war out of Friday’s Anchorage, Alaska talks at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
‘We didn’t get there,’ the usually ebullient president acknowledged, ‘but we have a very good chance of getting there.’
In an extremely uncharacteristic move, Trump allowed Putin to speak first – at what had been billed as a bilateral press conference – and then didn’t answer a single question before shaking hands with Putin again and sauntering offstage.
Their whole appearance before the press lasted just 12 minutes following more than three hours of private conversation.
‘I’m going to start making a few phone calls and tell them what happened. But we had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to, and there are just a very few that are left,’ Trump said.
He added, ‘Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant.’
During a sit-down with Sean Hannity taped in the room the summit occurred, the Fox News host asked if the president would reveal to him what that one issue is.
‘No, I’d rather not,’ Trump replied. ‘I guess somebody is going to go public with it, they’ll figure it out, but no, I don’t want to do that. I want to see if we can get it done.’
President Donald Trump (left) ended his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) with a very unusual press conference in Anchorage, Alaska. Trump took no questions nor divulged any details about their ‘extremely productive meeting’ to end the war in Ukraine
President Donald Trump (right) rolled out the red carpet for his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) of his second term – the first time a U.S. leader has come face-to-face with Putin since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine
Trump did tell Hannity that Putin appeared open to having a trilateral summit that included Zelensky.
In his opening statement, Putin flattered Trump by saying his assessment about the Ukraine war was true and that it never would have happened under Trump’s watch.
‘Today when President Trump’s saying that if he was the president back then there will be no war. I’m quite sure it would indeed be so, I can confirm that,’ Putin said in Russian through a translator.
Putin also placed blame on former President Joe Biden for the U.S.-Russia relationship unraveling, not his February 2022 invasion of America’s ally Ukraine.
‘I’d like to remind you that in 2022, during the last contact with the previous administration, I tried to convince my previous American colleague that the situation should not be brought to the point of no return when it would come to hostilities,’ Putin said, adding it was a ‘big mistake.’
Putin noted that the U.S.-Russia relationship had soured ‘to the lowest point since the Cold War.’
‘I think that’s not benefiting our countries and the world as a whole,’ Putin said. ‘It’s apparent that sooner or later we had to amend the situation and move on from the confrontation to dialogue.’
But Putin’s comments were mostly backward-looking, a glaring indication that the U.S. and Russia remained apart on the crucial issues that could lead to a ceasefire in Ukraine.
The Russian leader didn’t back down on his claims that the Ukrainian invasion was justified.
‘As I’ve said the situation in Ukraine has to do with frontal threats of our security,’ Putin said.
Repoters yelled questions at Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and President Donald Trump (right) who didn’t answer them despite the gathering being billed as a ‘press conference’
The Russian state news agency Sputnik distributed a photograph of Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) conversing with President Donald Trump (right) after what had been billed a press conference. Trump told Sean Hannity this was another one-on-one conversation with Putin
President Donald Trump (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) engage in a photo spray ahead of their three-on-three meeting Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
‘At the same time we’re convinced, that in order to make this settlement lasting and long-term, we need to eliminate all the primary roots, the primary causes of that conflict,’ the Russian leader added.
Putin added that the U.S. needed to ‘consider all legitimate concerns in Russia’ and he agreed with what President Trump said at the meeting ‘that naturally the security of Ukraine should be insured as well.’
When Putin announced his ‘special military operation’ in February 2022 – which has now dragged on for three and a half years – he claimed Ukrainians were being ‘subjected to abuse and genocide’ by their democratically-elected government that, under Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, became more western-aligned.
Putin, a former KGB agent, has long set his sights on increasing Russia’s borders to more closely resemble those of the USSR.
‘I’m going to hope that the agreement we’ve reached together will help us to that goal and will pave the path toward peace in Ukraine,’ Putin continued, warning against provocations from Ukraine and Europe.
Trump was set to call Zelensky and NATO leaders immediately after the meeting but details were not immediately available if that occurred.
Putin opened by calling the U.S. and Russia ‘neighbors’ and referencing their WWII alliance.
‘It’s very important for our countries to turn the page, to go back to cooperation,’ he said.
President Donald Trump (right) welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) to Alaska on Friday, as Trump attempts to get Putin to end the Ukraine war
A B-2 bomber, the stealth jet used in the U.S.’s June strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, took part in a flyover with four F-35 fighter jets as Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted President Donald Trump in Alaska
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and President Donald Trump (right) appear at a meet-and-greet ceremony at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday
Russian President Vladimir Putin disembarks his plane to meet President Donald Trump at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Friday
President Donald Trump (left) invited Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) to ride with him in the Beast to their meeting location at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
He noted their geographic proximity, saying the nearby international dateline means ‘you can step over, literally, from yesterday into tomorrow.’
‘I hope that we will succeed in that in [the] political sphere,’ Putin added.
Afterward on Hannity, Trump stayed tight-lipped on the discussions but he did suggest that Zelensky ‘make a deal.’
‘Russia is a very big power and they’re not, they have great soldiers,’ the president said of Ukraine.
The president also kept the door open to a possible meeting between himself, Putin and Zelensky, confirming to Hannity that it did come up.
‘They both want me there and I’ll be there. You gotta see it out,’ Trump said.
During the 32-minute sit-down, Trump also claimed Putin agreed with him on the problems with mail-in ballots, bringing up the 2020 election.
He also went down the rabbit hole on COVID-19, Cambodia and artificial intelligence, telling Hannity he regretted agreeing to do the interview because he wouldn’t share much substance.
‘I can tell you the meeting was a very warm meeting,’ Trump did say. ‘You know, he’s a strong guy, he’s tough as hell and all of that. But the meeting was a very warm meeting between two very important countries and it’s very good when they get along.’
Trump and Putin’s meeting, their first since June 2019, appeared friendly from the start, with red carpets set up for both leaders as Trump walked off Air Force One first.
Trump clapped his hands several times and then greeted the Russian leader with a handshake.
Both Trump and Putin ignored reporters’ shouted questions as the U.S. president presented the Russian leader with a show of American military might – a flyover that included a B-2 bomber, used in June’s bombing campaign to disable Iran’s nuclear facilities.
‘Mr. Putin, did you underestimate Ukraine?’ one journalist asked.
‘President Putin, will you stop killing civilians?’ a reporter yelled.
Putin appeared to shrug.
Trump then invited Putin to ride with him in the Beast, the presidential limo, to where negotiations would kick off.
Upon arrival to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, the White House changed the format of the meeting, to include Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff after initially signaling the summit would be a one-on-one affair.
Air Force One is seen landing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson ahead of President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin
En route to Anchorage, Alaska, President Donald Trump told reporters he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to bomb Ukraine to put himself in a stronger negotiating position
Reporters do live shots in a room reserved for a joint press conference that will happen after talks between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin conclude. Trump said he’ll hold the the press conference solo if negotiations go south
He told reporters that he believed Putin continued attacking Ukraine to put himself in a stronger bargaining position.
‘I think they’re trying to negotiate. He’s trying to set a stage. I think in his mind, that helps him make a better deal,’ Trump said. ‘It actually hurts him,’ the president added.
In recent months, Trump has been more publicly critical of Putin’s continued missile and drone strikes on Ukraine, crediting First Lady Melania Trump for calling out the Russian leader’s violence against Ukrainian civilians.
Ahead of Friday’s trip to Anchorage, Trump tempered expectations about what he might accomplish in Alaska, giving himself a ’25 percent’ failure rate.
‘The second meeting is going to be very, very important, because that’s going to be a meeting where they make a deal,’ Trump said.
‘But there is a 25 percent chance this meeting will not be a successful meeting,’ Trump added.
