U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Friday in Alaska for a high-profile summit aimed at easing tensions and discussing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Despite hours of talks, the leaders failed to reach a concrete agreement on a ceasefire.
The summit, held in Anchorage, was marked by an unusually brief joint press conference where both leaders spoke cautiously about progress but offered few details. Trump described the talks as “extremely productive” and said they had agreed on “many points,” though he declined to specify what those were.
Putin expressed hope that their discussions would “pave the way for peace in Ukraine,” but neither side announced any immediate steps toward ending the conflict.
During the meeting, Putin reportedly agreed with Trump’s assertion that the Ukraine war might have been avoided had Trump remained in office instead of Joe Biden. Trump, meanwhile, reiterated his dismissal of U.S. intelligence findings that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to support his campaign, calling it a “hoax.”
Before the summit, Trump warned of “severe consequences” if Russia did not accept a ceasefire. However, in a post-summit interview with Fox News, he suggested those consequences might no longer be necessary, saying, “Because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that now.”
The two leaders appeared to rekindle their personal rapport, with Putin inviting Trump for a future meeting in Moscow.
While the summit signaled a willingness to engage, it fell short of producing a breakthrough on the critical issue of peace in Ukraine.
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