JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, AL (AP) — President Donald Trump said he and Vladimir Putin did not agree to end Russia’s war in Ukraine after meeting on Friday. Putin claimed they had reached an agreement, but the two leaders lavished praise on one another while providing few details about their discussions.
Putin said he and Trump had struck an agreement on Ukraine in brief remarks as they shared a platform during a two-hour summit in Alaska. He also cautioned Europe not to sabotage the early success.
However, Trump went on to say, “There is no deal until there is a deal,” and he announced that he would shortly meet with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to update them on the talks.
According to Trump, the discussion was quite fruitful and many points were reached. And the remaining ones are quite few. Not all of them are very important. The first is arguably the most important, but we have a fair chance of succeeding.
“We didn’t get there,” he added.
The high-profile summit ended without an agreement to stop or even halt the bloody battle, which has been going on for more than three years and is the biggest land war in Europe since 1945.
Putin was welcomed with open arms when he arrived at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, marking the sudden end of an otherwise cordial encounter. In an exceptionally cordial welcome for a U.S. opponent, the two leaders shook hands and smiled as they greeted one another. Putin even got a ride in the presidential limousine.
Reporters in the area shouted, “President Putin, will you stop killing civilians?” while the two leaders were still on the tarmac. The leader of Russia raised his palm to his ear as if to signal that he was unable to hear them. Putin then grinned widely as the car went passed the cameras as Trump and Putin rode together for a brief ride to their meeting location in the Beast, the U.S. presidential limousine.
Zelenskyy and European leaders were shut out of Trump and Putin’s talks, and the president of Ukraine was forced to send a video message in which he hoped the United States would take a firm stance.
Everyone wants the war to end honestly. He stated that Ukraine is prepared to cooperate as effectively as possible to put an end to the conflict, but he went on to say that the war is still going on because Moscow has not given any orders or shown any indications that it is getting ready to do so.
Trump had simultaneously increased and decreased expectations for the summit, at times calling it a feel-out session and at other times threatening dire repercussions for Russia should Putin not agree to halt the conflict.
Prior to taking office, he boasted that he could put an end to the war in a day. He later clarified that this was a joke. He had his finest chance to date to end the violence when he had the chance to speak with Putin directly, but he was unsuccessful.
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By Will Weissert and Michelle L. Price, Associated Press
Weissert provided a Washington report. This report was written by Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Elise Morton in London, and Matthew Lee and Jonathan J. Cooper in Washington.
