The highly anticipated summit in Alaska between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded with no concrete agreements, though both leaders praised the meeting as positive. During the joint press event Friday afternoon local time, the talks were described as ‘extremely productive’ and ‘constructive’ respectively, but neither leader would comment on what definitive progress was made. Trump said going into the talks that he would not be making any deal on Ukraine or address territorial concessions. Instead, he highlighted the need for a second meeting to include Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which the Kremlin chief has thus far refused to do.
Neither side announced Putin’s intention to meet with Zelenskyy during the press event, though neither leader took any questions from reporters. In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity following the summit, Trump suggested that such a meeting was on the horizon. ‘A lot of points were agreed on,’ Trump said. ‘There’s one or two pretty significant items, but I think they can be reached.’ He added, ‘Now it’s really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done. And I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved. And if they’d like, I’ll be at that next meeting – they’re going to set up a meeting now between President Zelenskyy and President Putin and myself, I guess.’
Trump also reiterated a point he made during the press conference with Putin, saying, ‘there’s no deal until there’s a deal.’ He wouldn’t comment on what the issues were that he and Putin agreed on, nor the issues that remain controversial. The president said he would rate the conversation with Putin a ‘ten’ out of ten, in regard to the apparent cordiality of the discussion, particularly appreciating the Russian president’s comments about not invading Ukraine had Trump won the 2020 presidency. Neither Putin nor Trump explained the Kremlin chief’s reasoning behind these comments.
Russian officials also praised the talks immediately following the summit, though it remains unclear how Zelenskyy or NATO allies will react to discussions, which Trump said he would relay to them immediately following the press event. Trump didn’t discuss how his conversations went with Zelenskyy or other European leaders. Neither NATO nor Zelenskyy’s office immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s questions about the call with Trump or the apparent outcome of the meeting. Both Trump and Putin departed from Anchorage shortly after the summit wrapped.