It appears an “agreement” was reached in the Friday meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and American President Donald Trump, but the nature of that agreement remained unclear after a bilateral press conference Friday evening.
The two world leaders met for several hours in Alaska Friday – Putin’s first time visiting the U.S. in a decade – to discuss a path toward peace in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Putin said “an agreement” had been reached, but neither he nor Trump provided details beyond that.
“We had an extremely productive meeting,” Trump said during the press conference.
He said he would call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders to relay the details of the conversation, and his remarks seemed to confirm that at least an initial proposal had been agreed to but that there was further discussion that needed to be had.
“Many points were agreed to, and there are just a very few that are left. Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there,” Trump said. “We didn’t get there but we have a very good chance of getting there.”
Earlier, he had said there was “no deal until there’s a deal,” and that it was “ultimately up to” Putin and Zelenskyy to commit to peace.
Putin said that Russia was “sincerely interested in putting an end” to the war with Ukraine, and he appeared open to foreign forces helping maintain and protect Ukraine’s security. But that was the only example that was provided of the Russian president agreeing to any of Ukraine’s publicly proposed conditions.
“We’re convinced that in order to make the settlement lasting and long term, we need to eliminate all the primary roots, the primary causes of that conflict and… to consider all legitimate concerns of Russia and to reinstate a just balance of security in Europe and in the world on the whole,” Putin said.
“We agree with President Trump… that naturally, the security of Ukraine should be insured as well.”
Trump concluded by alluding to another future in-person meeting. Putin suggested Moscow.
“Oh, that’s an interesting one,” Trump smiled. “I’ll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening.”
The press conference concluded without the presidents taking any questions from reporters.
