ANCHORAGE (Realist English). The long-awaited summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded Friday without an agreement to halt or pause Russia’s war in Ukraine, though both leaders insisted the three-hour talks had been “productive.”
“We’ve made some headway,” Trump told reporters, standing before a banner reading Pursuing Peace. But he cautioned: “There’s no deal until there’s a deal.” Neither leader took questions, and key details of the discussions remained undisclosed.
For Putin, the face-to-face meeting itself marked a diplomatic win, ending years of isolation from Western leaders since the 2022 invasion. The Russian leader repeated his stance that “root causes” of the conflict must be addressed before any lasting peace, warning European capitals not to “disrupt the emerging progress.”
Trump later told Fox News he would postpone imposing new tariffs on Chinese purchases of Russian oil, citing “progress with Putin.” He also hinted at arranging a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, possibly with his own participation. “Gotta make a deal,” Trump said, adding bluntly: “Russia is a very big power, and they’re not.”
Kyiv has yet to respond formally. Ukrainian opposition lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko wrote on Telegram: “It seems Putin has bought himself more time. No ceasefire or de-escalation has been agreed upon.” Zelenskyy, excluded from the Alaska summit, said beforehand that the talks should pave the way for a “just peace” through trilateral negotiations, adding: “We are counting on America.”
The summit opened with red-carpet ceremony at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, where Trump welcomed Putin under a U.S. Air Force flyover. Behind the optics, however, the deadliest war in Europe since World War II continued: eastern Ukrainian regions faced fresh air raid alerts, while Russian governors reported drone attacks inside their territory.
Both leaders signaled they would meet again soon. “Next time in Moscow,” Putin quipped. Trump smiled, noting he might “get a little heat on that one” — but did not rule it out.
