No ceasefire deal reached in Trump-Putin meeting; Trump may ‘pay a price’ if Putin summit yields no concrete results_ Int’l affairs prof.

US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, have wrapped up their summit meeting in the US state of Alaska. Trump described the talks as “productive,” but came away with no deal on a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

The leaders sat down for talks at a US military facility on Friday.

The face-to-face meeting was their first since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Trump was joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff. The Russian side included Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and presidential aide Yury Ushakov. The talks lasted for about two and a half hours.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Putin described the talks as “constructive” and “quite useful.”

He said one of the central topics was the situation in Ukraine. He said all the conflict’s “primary causes” need to be eliminated, and all of Russia’s “legitimate concerns” must be considered.

Trump also called the meeting “very productive.” He went on to say they had agreed on many points, but not on “a couple of big ones.” He then added, “But we’ve made some headway so there’s no deal until there’s a deal.”

Trump did not elaborate on any specific points he and Putin had agreed on.

Trump told Putin during a joint news conference that they would probably see each other again very soon. The Russian president responded in English, “Next time in Moscow.”

Trump called the suggestion “interesting,” adding that he would “get a little heat on that one,” but could see it “possibly happening.”

The two leaders ended the news conference without taking questions from reporters.

The White House spokesperson told reporters that Trump had a long telephone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on board Air Force One while returning to Washington, she also said Trump talked with the leaders of NATO.

The EU spokesperson confirmed Trump spoke with the leaders of Germany, France and the UK, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Trump later told Fox News in an interview that the US, Russia and Ukraine might soon set up a meeting, and that it would be up to President Zelenskyy to get a deal done.

Zelenskyy posted a message on social media saying he will meet Trump in Washington on Monday. He wrote that he welcomes a trilateral meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A senior official of the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru says though the details of the summit between the US and Russian presidents are still unknown said the meeting could be described as a starting point for dialogue.

The official who commented after US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Alaska on Friday said that as the leaders mentioned a next meeting, its timing will be something to watch closely.

Meanwhile, Georgetown University Professor Charles Kupchan says he welcomes US President Donald Trump holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine, but believes Trump will pay a price if the meeting yields no concrete progress.

The professor of international affairs and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a US think tank said he gives Trump credit for starting a dialogue with Putin because an end to the Ukraine conflict will require direct bilateral talks between Washington and Moscow.

He said, “This is a war that will end at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield,” as neither Ukraine nor Russia has what it takes to win.

But Kupchan added that Trump is “perhaps making a mistake” by holding the summit prematurely, before finding a clear path that would lead to an end to the conflict.

He said: “Putin is coming out of the cold. He’s leaving isolation. He’s been invited to the United States to sit with the American president.”

He added: “One would hope that Trump would offer that kind of big win for Putin only if he thinks that Putin is ready to make a deal, to compromise, to abandon his maximalist war aims.” He said he doesn’t see an indication that is where Putin is headed.

As for the possible summit outcome, the professor said the most likely scenario is no change from before the meeting, with Putin only buying time.

He said the Russian president “thinks that time is on his side. He is making progress on the battlefield. Ukraine faces manpower shortages and resource shortages.”

Kupchan said Trump “will pay a price” if he walks away from the summit without concrete results or progress toward ending the conflict. He said Trump is “gambling” by inviting Putin, and the pressure is on the US president.