ANCHORAGE, Alaska – President Donald Trump has concluded three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin without a peace deal to end his three-year war with Ukraine.
“I will say that I believe we had a very productive meeting,” Trump told reporters on Friday in Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. “There were many, many points that we agreed on, most of them, I would say, a couple of big ones that we haven’t quite gotten there, but we’ve made some headway.”
Previewing phone calls he would be shortly making to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his NATO counterparts, Trump added “there’s “no deal until there’s a deal” before complaining about the “Russia hoax,” allegations that Putin tried to help his 2016 campaign, that dampened their relationship.
Putin opened what was supposed to be a Trump-Putin press conference, the first joint press conference between a U.S. and Russian president since their first and last standalone summit in Helsinki in 2018, against a summit banner stating, “Pursuing Peace,” telling reporters a deal had been made. But the pair departed their respective podiums without answering questions about its details.
The White House started lowering expectations last weekend after Friday’s summit with Putin, the first in-person meeting of the two men during Trump’s second administration, and after it became apparent that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff did not accurately convey Putin’s demands for a ceasefire with Ukraine, making the possibility of peace even more tenuous.
Friday’s summit was categorized by constant change. First, Trump’s scheduled one-on-one meeting with Putin was expanded to become a three-on-three sit down between the presidents, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Witkoff, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Russia foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov, easing concerns of critics who have raised questions regarding whether Trump should be alone in a room with Putin.
Then that group of six was expected to be expanded again for a larger lunch, but it is unknown whether that event, which was anticipated to include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, took place.
The schedule changes came after Trump and his aides sent mixed messages related to their expectations for Friday’s summit, six months into Trump’s second administration, following Trump’s campaign promise to end the war on day one.
When Friday’s summit was announced last week, Trump and the White House sought to downplay expectations, including describing it as a “listening session” for “setting the table” for future meetings between Putin, Zelensky, and Trump, if the latter’s presence is requested.
Simultaneously, Trump had threatened Putin with “very severe consequences” should it become evident he does not intend to pursue peace, with Trump telling Fox News aboard Air Force One en route to Anchorage that he would not “be happy if I walk away without some form of a ceasefire.”
“We’re going to have another meeting if things work out, which will be very soon,” he said. “Or we’re not going to have any more meetings at all — maybe ever.”
Friday’s summit started cordially enough with Trump welcoming Putin with a clap before the two men shook hands for an extended period of time and walked together down a red carpet rolled out from their respective planes. Trump and Putin later posed for photographs on an “Alaska 2025” podium and B-2s, F-22s, and F-35s flew overhead.
“Will you stop killing civilians?” one reporter asked.
Putin tapped his ear and shrugged in response, indicating he either could not hear or did not understand.
Trump and Putin then stepped into the U.S. presidential limousine known as the Beast for the summit site with only a driver and a U.S. Secret Service agent, even though Putin’s own car was on the tarmac, a stand-in for a one-on-one meeting.