US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for nearly two and a half hours on Friday at a high-stakes summit held at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.
Putin received an unusually warm reception upon arrival. He was greeted with a lengthy handshake by Trump as he stepped off his aircraft, a gesture signalling a surprisingly cordial atmosphere despite the severe geopolitical tensions between the two nations. After a short drive together in the presidential limousine, the two leaders began their closed-door talks, accompanied by senior aides.
Speaking at a brief joint news conference afterwards, neither leader took questions nor provided detailed insights into their discussions. While Putin claimed the pair had reached an “understanding” on Ukraine, Trump pushed back on any suggestion of a concrete deal.
“There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said firmly, while noting that he intended to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in the coming days to update them on the talks. In a post-summit interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump was asked to rate the meeting. Without hesitation, he said: “A 10 out of 10.”
Putin, on the other hand, warned that “Europe should not torpedo the nascent progress,” urging all parties to avoid actions that could derail the early signs of diplomatic movement.
Both leaders acknowledged the complexity of achieving a lasting peace. Trump called the summit an “extremely productive meeting,” adding, “Many points were agreed to.” However, he admitted there were still major hurdles. “There remain sticking points with Moscow, including at least one significant one,” he stated.
Putin echoed similar sentiments, saying, “The primary causes of the conflict must be eliminated for an agreement to last,” while cautioning Ukraine and the EU against using “backroom dealings to conduct provocations.”
Despite Trump previously insisting that business would not be discussed until progress was made on a ceasefire, Putin announced that the two also talked about potential US-Russia collaboration in areas such as high-tech industries, space exploration, and Arctic cooperation.
“US and Russian investment and business cooperation has tremendous potential,” Putin told journalists. “We see that Arctic cooperation is also very possible.” He also reiterated Russia’s interest in leveraging its reserves of rare earth minerals, vital for modern technology as part of a potential future partnership.
As the summit wrapped, both leaders expressed optimism about further dialogue. Trump thanked Putin for attending and said he hoped they would meet again soon. Putin, with a grin, replied in English, “Next time, in Moscow.” Trump responded, “I’ll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening.”
The US president indicated he would next focus on consulting NATO allies and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. “Now, it’s really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done,” Trump said. “The European nations have to get involved a little bit. But it’s up to President Zelenskyy.” He added, “Make a deal,” in what appeared to be a direct message aimed at the Ukrainian leader.
