President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin both said that significant progress was made toward an agreement for a potential ceasefire in the war in Ukraine, but that a final deal had not yet been reached during their high-stakes summit in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday.
Trump said the talks were “extremely productive” but added that “there’s no deal until there’s a deal” during a joint press conference following nearly three hours of closed-door conversations between the two leaders. Details on what was agreed to and what issues have yet to be resolved were not shared.
Trump and Putin met at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, where they shook hands and posed for photographs on the tarmac before beginning their sit-down away from the press.
It was the first face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin since 2019, and Putin’s first with a U.S. president since his forces invaded Ukraine in 2022. The Russian leader had spoken on the phone with Trump since his reelection, but they had not yet met in person during the president’s second term.
Trump has been trying for months to secure a deal to end the war, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited to Friday’s summit, and expectations that a ceasefire agreement can be reached are low.
“This is really a feel-out meeting,” Trump told reporters earlier this week. “Probably in the first two minutes I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made.” The president also promised “very severe consequences” if Putin doesn’t agree to end the three-and-a-half-year conflict, which has caused a staggering number of casualties on both sides.
There were fresh attacks in the war overnight. Russia launched dozens of drone strikes across Ukraine, killing seven civilians and injuring 17 others, Ukrainian military officials said.
