JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — President Trump said Friday he made progress on key points during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin but did not specify what those points were or what disagreements remained to achieve peace in Ukraine.
“We didn’t get there, but we have a good chance,” Trump said, signaling there was no final agreement out of Friday’s talks.
The president did not take questions or offer any other details. He indicated he would speak with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following Friday’s summit in Alaska.
Despite both leaders speaking of progress, neither one offered any specifics about what that looked like in tangible terms.
“We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to. There are just a very few that are left,” Trump said. “Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant.”
Trump and Putin met for roughly three hours. What was supposed to be a one-on-one meeting became a three-on-three meeting with top aides, with Trump joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
As Putin spoke at Friday’s joint press conference, Trump mostly kept a straight face and rarely looked over at his Russian counterpart.
The Russian president cautioned leaders in Europe and in Ukraine against undercutting any progress that was made during Friday’s discussions.
In an appeal to Trump, Putin said Russia-U.S. had hit a low point in 2022, when he last spoke to then-President Biden.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 after amassing troops near the border.
Trump and other White House officials had spent days tempering expectations that he would strike a peace deal on Friday with Putin.
Still, the White House rolled out the red carpet for Putin in Alaska — literally. Officials unfurled red carpets for Trump and Putin to walk along upon landing at the air base.
The two men had a warm handshake upon first meeting, and they rode alone in the presidential limousine and were seen chuckling as they drove from the tarmac to the site of the summit. They did not answer questions from reporters during their greeting or during their sit-down with top aides.
As Trump wrapped up his remarks, he suggested he may be seeing Putin again in the near future. Trump had in recent days indicated Friday’s meeting was meant as a precursor to a summit with both Putin and Zelensky that could achieve peace.
“Next time in Moscow,” Putin responded in English.
Updated 7:39 p.m.
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