Russian President Vladimir Putin invited his US counterpart Donald Trump to Moscow for future talks on Ukarine issue following the summit between the two leaders at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday.
Donald Trump failed to secure an agreement from Vladimir Putin on Friday to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, but said, “There’s no deal until there’s a deal.”
Trump, who for years has balked at American support for Ukraine and expressed admiration for Putin, had pledged confidently to bring about an end to the war on his first day back in the White House, reports AP.
Instead, he handed Putin long-sought recognition on the international stage, after years of Western efforts to make him a pariah over the war and his crackdown on dissent, and forestalled the threat of additional US sanctions.
For Putin, just being on US soil for the first time in more than a decade was validation after his ostracisation following his invasion of Ukraine.
His meeting with Trump may stall the economic sanctions that the US president had promised unless Moscow worked harder to bring the fighting to a close. It also may simply lead to more meetings, giving his forces more time to make progress on the battlefield.
Putin said Russia and the United States should “turn the page and go back to cooperation.”
He praised Trump as someone who “has a clear idea of what he wants to achieve and sincerely cares about the prosperity of his country, and at the same time shows understanding that Russia has its own national interests.”
“I expect that today’s agreements will become a reference point not only for solving the Ukrainian problem, but will also mark the beginning of the restoration of businesslike, pragmatic relations between Russia and the US,” Putin said.
Despite not reaching any major breakthrough, Trump ended his remarks by thanking Putin and saying, “we’ll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon.”
Trump stressed that he has always had a “fantastic relationship” with Putin, but it was hampered by the “Russia, Russia, Russia hoax”, referring to the scandal over Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, reports Ukrinform, a Ukrainian news agency.
He thanked Putin and his team for participating in the talks, stating, “We’re going to stop [the killing] … thousands of people a week,” adding that Putin “wants to see that just as much as I do.”
In response to Putin’s remark about a possible next meeting in Moscow, Trump said, “Oh that’s an interesting one. I’ll get a little heat on that one but I could see it possibly happening.”
When Trump and Putin arrived in Alaska, they had greeted each other with a warm handshake, chatting almost like old friends. As they chatted, Putin grinned and pointed skyward, where B-2s and F-22s — military aircraft designed to oppose Russia during the Cold War — flew overhead. The two then shared the US presidential limo for a short ride to their meeting site, with Putin offering a broad smile as they rolled past the cameras.
It was the kind of reception typically reserved for close US allies and belied the bloodshed and suffering in the war Putin started in Ukraine.
Although not altogether surprising considering their longtime friendly relationship, such outward friendliness likely raised concerns from Zelenskyy and European leaders, who fear that Trump is primarily focusing on furthering US interests and not pressing hard enough for Ukraine’s.