Trump hails Alaska summit with Putin over Ukraine as ‘productive’

The high-stakes summit on Friday between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin did not result in a breakthrough, even as Trump described it as “productive,” while Putin proposed another meeting in Moscow.

The White House had played down the talks — initially seen an attempt to secure a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine — with spokesperson Karoline Leavitt calling the summit, “a listening exercise for the president.”

Following the Friday meeting Trump said, “There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”

Ukraine was not part of the discussions, stoking concerns that a potential deal could have compromised the country’s sovereignty. “Ukraine is ready to work as productively as possible to bring the war to an end, and we count on a strong position from America … A meeting of leaders is needed – at the very least, Ukraine, America, and the Russian side,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X prior to the summit.

This was Putin’s first visit to the U.S. in about a decade, with the Russian president stressing that it was a “hard time” for bilateral relations. The meeting was held in Alaska, which was once Russian territory.

“There were many, many points that we agreed on … I would say a couple of big ones that we haven’t quite got there, but we’ve made some headway,” Trump said at a joint press conference with Putin. The leaders did not take any questions from the press.

Putin called the talks as a “starting point,” both for the resolution of the conflict with Kyiv as well as for improving relations with Washington, which he said had “fallen to the lowest point since the Cold War.” 

Trump called Putin’s observations “profound,” and added that he would talk to NATO and Zelenskyy to update them about the discussions with Russia. “It’s ultimately up to them,” he said.

“Many points were agreed to. 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, without elaborating.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, multiple rounds of peace negotiations have taken place, but there has not been a breakthrough on ending hostilities.

In an interview with Fox News following the Friday summit, Trump asked Zelenskyy to make a deal to end the war in Ukraine. “Gotta make a deal. Yeah. Look, Russia is a very big power, and they’re not. They’re great soldiers,” he said.

Russian media outlets were upbeat Friday ahead of Putin’s meeting with Trump, with the summit being seen as a win for Moscow. Commentary across Russian state news sites characterized the talks as a positive for Russia. The mood in Ukraine was somber amid apprehensions of the country losing some territory as part of a Trump-brokered deal.