President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended their long-anticipated summit on Friday without reaching a cease-fire agreement for Ukraine, though the leaders struck a cordial tone during a brief joint press conference. Trump described the meeting as “extremely productive,” but details about any potential future framework for peace remained vague.
“We haven’t quite gotten there, but we’ve made some headway,” Trump said. “There’s no deal until there’s a deal.” He added that several points still need to be worked out, but did not provide specifics.
The press conference lasted only minutes, and neither president took questions from reporters. The summit itself, however, lasted more than three hours. Trump said that progress would be shared with NATO, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and other allies, though he had not yet contacted them before speaking to the press.
Putin emphasized the importance of cooperation between the two nations. “It is very important for our countries to turn the page and go back to cooperation,” he said. He also referred to Ukraine as a “brotherly nation” and expressed hope that Kyiv would not hinder the negotiation process. The Russian president remarked on the geographic closeness of the United States and Russia, calling them “close neighbors.”
Originally planned as a one-on-one meeting between the two presidents, the summit ultimately included advisers from both sides in what White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described as a “three-on-three” meeting. Trump was joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, while Putin was accompanied by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and presidential adviser Yury Ushakov.
Trump made clear that he was not negotiating on Ukraine’s behalf. “I’m not here to negotiate for Ukraine. I’m here to get them on the table,” he said, adding that any decisions regarding territorial swaps would be up to Ukraine.
The summit focused on the ongoing war in Ukraine and the economic relationship between the United States and Russia. Zelensky, who did not attend, welcomed the summit as a potential step toward broader talks, stating that Ukraine is “counting on America” and is ready to work productively toward peace.
Trump indicated that a second meeting, potentially including Zelensky, would be critical. “The second meeting is going to be very, very important, because that’s going to be a meeting where they make a deal,” he said.
Ahead of the summit, Trump also spoke with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko regarding the release of prisoners, including 16 who were recently freed, and discussed the possibility of releasing an additional 1,300.
The summit comes after repeated attempts by the Trump administration to broker cease-fire agreements and broader peace negotiations. The conflict, now over three years old, began with Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces currently control roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.
Trump reiterated that he is prepared to impose harsh economic sanctions on Russia if negotiations stall. Despite the conflict, the U.S. imported $3 billion in goods from Russia last year, though trade relations have deteriorated significantly.
Following the summit, Zelensky is scheduled to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, though details of that meeting have not been released.
Depending on your perspective, the best news or the worst news out of the just-completed Alaska summit is that it doesn’t sound like any serious deal is in the works or imminent. President Trump did indicate that he felt like he and Putin were “getting there,” but Trump wanted a cease-fire, and he did not get one.
If you don’t trust Trump’s instincts, you can feel reassured that he did not agree to a bad deal. If you have faith in Trump’s instincts, you can feel a little disappointed that he could not sweet-talk or arm-twist Putin into a cease-fire.
But there was one intriguing comment from Putin, that he would “agree with President Trump, as he has said today, that naturally, the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well. Naturally we are prepared to work on that.” Of course, doveryay, no proveryay, or “trust, but verify”; the fact that Putin said it does not mean that Putin means it or that Russian policies will change in any significant way. But inherent in that statement is that when the shooting stops someday, some form of an independent Ukraine will continue to exist, and Putin is at least willing to pay lip service to the concept of its security.
