ANCHORAGE, ALASKA – United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended their meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Friday, saying discussions were “productive” but with no final deal in place.
Trump told reporters the two leaders “made some headway” and that “many points were agreed to,” but stressed that Ukraine and NATO allies would still need to be consulted. “There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” he said, adding that he would call President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO leaders to brief them on the talks.
Putin opened the press conference, speaking for about eight minutes, while Trump followed with a four-minute statement. Neither leader took questions. Trump said his team, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff, engaged with their Russian counterparts on possible frameworks for ending the war in Ukraine, but he gave no details.
Russian officials framed the talks as a step toward reopening dialogue. Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko reacted by saying the meeting “gave Putin more time” without securing a ceasefire.
Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton was more blunt, remarking that “Trump did not lose, but Putin clearly won.” He argued that Putin had avoided new sanctions, escaped any ceasefire obligations, and walked away with the prospect of further talks.
During the joint address, Putin repeated his claim that the war in Ukraine would not have erupted in 2022 if Trump had been in office. He said the two leaders had established a “trusting contact” and could still work toward ending the conflict.
Trump closed by saying he had “a few phone calls” to make, listing NATO leaders and President Zelensky among those he intended to brief about the discussions.
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