ANCHORAGE, ALASKA – US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have held what the US president described as an “extremely productive meeting” in the latest diplomatic push to find a resolution to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The US president, speaking at a press conference following the talks, offered a mix of optimism and caution, stating, “There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”
Trump outlined that while many points of agreement were reached, a few significant obstacles remain. “We’ve paid some headway,” Trump said, noting that only a “very few” points are left to be resolved, with one being particularly “significant.”
The meeting, which included key figures from the Trump administration as well as “tremendous Russian business representatives,” was described by the president as a testament to the US’s renewed global standing.
“We’ve become the hottest country anywhere in the world in a very short period of time,” he declared.
Trump emphasized his long-standing relationship with the Russian president, describing their connection as “fantastic.”
He lamented the past interference of the “Russia, Russia, Russia hoax,” which he claimed made previous dealings more difficult, though he noted that Putin “understood it.”
Trump stated that the “hoax” was “very criminal” and hampered progress on a range of issues.
In a move to update allies and adversaries alike, Trump announced he would be making a series of phone calls, including to NATO and to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, to brief them on the details of the meeting.
He concluded his remarks by thanking Putin and his team, saying, “We had some good meetings over the years, right? Good, productive meetings over the years, and we hope to have that in the future.”
The press conference ended abruptly with the president saying, “Right now, we’re going to stop.”
Near the end of Trump’s speech, Putin – speaking in English – invited him to meet in Moscow, an offer Trump described as “interesting.”
While the tone from the White House was largely positive, the lack of a final agreement leaves the door open to continued uncertainty, and the international community will be watching closely to see if the “very good chance of getting there,” as Trump put it, translates into a concrete resolution in the coming days.