U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, after a face-to-face summit in Alaska on Friday, said they made progress in reaching a deal on peace in Ukraine, though no cease-fire was announced.
Aug. 15 U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, after a 3 1/2-hour face-to-face summit in Alaska on Friday, said they made progress in reaching a deal on peace in Ukraine, though no cease-fire was announced.
The two leaders appeared before reporters at 3 p.m. local time but took no questions from them. Their meeting began at 11:30 a.m. Alaska time.
They also didn’t mention a key issue: whether Russia or Ukraine will give up acquired land. But when asked later in person by Sean Hannity on Fox News whether they agreed on a land swap, Trump said: „Those are points that we negotiated and those are points that we largely have agreed on. Ukraine has to agree to it. Maybe they’ll say no.“
He also told Hannity that he would hold off on imposing more sanctions or „other severe consequences“ against Russia if the war wasn’t halted. Earlier this month he threatened harsh sanctions.
Neither president gave any details to reporters.
„We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to“, Trump said, speaking for 3 1/2 minutes. „We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.“
He said: „There’s no deal until there’s a deal.“
Putin, speaking first for about eight minutes and 30 seconds, said an accord to end the 3 1/2-year-old war will „pave the path toward peace in Ukraine.“
The agreement must deal with security.
„As I’ve said, the situation in Ukraine has to do with fundamental threats to our security“, Putin said. „I agree with President Trump, as he has said today, that naturally, the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well. Naturally, we have prepared to work on that“, he said.
Missing from the summit: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He and his aides were not invited, though Trump has said he hopes for a second meeting that will include him.
Putin said Friday that he suggested the next meeting to take place in Moscow.
„That’s an interesting one, I’ll get a little heat on that one“, Trump said. „But I could see it possibly happening.“
Trump said he will discuss details of the first meeting with allies and Zelensky.
„I will call up NATO in a little while. I will call up the various people that I think are appropriate“,Trump said. „And I’ll, of course, call up President Zelensky and tell him about today’s meeting. It’s ultimately up to them.“
Putin told Ukrainian and European leaders not to intervene.
„We expect that Kyiv and European capitals will perceive all this in a constructive manner and will not create any obstacles, will not make attempts to disrupt the emerging progress through provocations and behind-the-scenes intrigues“, he said.
Oleksiy Goncharenko, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, posted Friday on Telegram: „It seems that Putin has gained more time.
