WASHINGTON D.C. – US President Donald Trump said “progress was made” but acknowledged “we didn’t get there” after three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Saturday, with no ceasefire agreement reached to end the war in Ukraine.
Putin, speaking separately, said he was “sincerely interested” in ending the conflict. Neither leader took questions from the media after the closed-door summit.
Despite the lack of a breakthrough, Trump later said on his Truth Social platform that “it was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement,” describing such a deal as “more substantial than a mere ceasefire agreement.”
The president added that he had a “great and very successful day in Alaska,” and confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Washington for Oval Office talks on Monday.
“If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially, millions of people’s lives will be saved,” Trump said.
A Win for Putin
Analysts noted that Putin left Alaska with significant symbolic gains despite making no visible concessions.
The Russian leader was given a red-carpet welcome, an embrace from the US president, and a global platform to present his narrative.
Trump, meanwhile, left without a tangible achievement to show. “The summit amounts to a clear win for Putin,” one observer said.
The Russian president also used the occasion to warn Europeans not to “throw a wrench” into his relationship with Trump, a remark seen as an effort to drive a wedge between Washington and its NATO allies.
In a striking moment, Putin echoed Trump’s longstanding claim that the Ukraine war would not have occurred had he been president instead of Joe Biden.
The statement not only bolstered Trump’s narrative but also touched on his false assertion that the 2020 election was “stolen” — rhetoric that still resonates with much of Trump’s political base.
NATO Leaders Briefed
Following the Alaska summit, Trump joined a call with NATO leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, while flying back aboard Air Force One.
Zelensky described the call as “long and substantive,” and officials in Kyiv privately expressed relief that no deal had been struck without Ukraine’s involvement.
