President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin wrapped up a nearly three-hour summit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Friday without securing an agreement to end Russia’s war in Ukraine — Trump’s stated goal for the talks.
At a joint press conference, Trump described the meeting as productive but was vague on specifics, saying, “Many points were agreed to, and there are just a very few that are left.” He added, “We’ve made some headway. So there’s no deal until there’s a deal.” The joint press appearance was brief and did not include a question-and-answer session, leaving many details unresolved.
Putin reiterated Russia’s position, saying, “We’re convinced that in order to make the settlement lasting and long-term, we need to eliminate all of the primary causes of the conflict,” referring to Moscow’s demands that Ukraine cede territory, disarm, forgo NATO membership, and change its government — conditions Ukraine and its Western allies have largely rejected.
He said the conflict “has to do with fundamental threats to our security” and urged Kyiv and European capitals “not to throw a wrench in the works.”
The summit — Putin’s first U.S. visit in a decade — featured a warm welcome, with Trump greeting him on a red carpet, a B-2 bomber flyover, and a shared ride in the U.S. presidential limousine without an interpreter.
“Today President Trump was saying that if he was president back then there would be no war, and I’m quite sure that it would indeed be so,” Putin said, endorsing Trump’s claim that Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine would not have occurred under his leadership.
Trump, who once vowed to end the war in 24 hours, acknowledged the challenge’s complexity, saying on Air Force One, “I’m not here to negotiate for Ukraine, I’m here to get them at a table.”
He expressed hope for a rapid ceasefire, stating, “I want to see a ceasefire rapidly … I want the killing to stop,” and mentioned possible security assurances for Ukraine, though “not in the form of NATO” membership. He added he would soon call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO leaders to discuss the talks.
Russian commentators celebrated the summit as a diplomatic win for Putin, with Andrei Gurulyov, a retired general and Russian parliament member, writing on Telegram that Putin’s “unwavering” stance was a “breakthrough” as he explained the war’s reasons “face to face” to Trump.
Russian state television repeatedly aired the press conference, with one anchor noting, “It’s clear from the statements made by both presidents that a huge step forward has been made.”
Ukrainian officials expressed concern, with Oleksandr Merezhko, a parliamentary foreign affairs chairman, calling the summit a public relations victory for Putin, who “used Trump to show that he is not isolated.”
Zelenskyy, who was not invited, warned that Russia continued attacks during the talks, noting a missile strike in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region that day killed one person.
“It’s time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America,” he wrote on Telegram.
The summit, attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, and Russian officials Yury Ushakov and Sergei Lavrov, ended earlier than anticipated, skipping a planned second session.
Putin invited Trump to a future meeting in Moscow, to which Trump responded, “Ooh, that’s an interesting one. I’ll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening.”