President Donald Trump and Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin appeared in an amicable but short media briefing before reporters on Friday, where no deal was announced.
In the days leading up to the summit, Trump expressed optimism that the discussions would move toward a ceasefire and peace talks between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had projected just a 25% chance of failure for the meeting.
‘We have a very good chance of getting there. We didn’t get there, but we have a good shot of getting there.’
Trump said there had been some progress and that the meeting was a beginning for negotiations, but he did not say whether he would follow through on a threat to sanction Russia if they did not reach a deal.
Trump arrived in Alaska’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson around 3 p.m. Eastern for the scheduled meeting.
Trump greeted Putin on the tarmac, shaking his hand before walking together along a red carpet lined with four F-22 Raptor fighter jets. As they moved toward a stage with a sign that read “Alaska 2025,” American military planes, including a B-2 stealth bomber, flew overhead.
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After posing for a brief photo-op, they entered the presidential limousine to head to their scheduled meeting.
Putin spoke first after the meeting and said in his comments that Trump was correct in saying there would have been no invasion of Ukraine had Trump been in office.
He said that he called Trump his “close neighbor” and talked about the historical ties between Russia and the U.S. He noted that there had been no summit between the two nations for four years and lamented that fact.
Putin also said he hoped Ukraine didn’t participate in backroom dealings to undermine progress on a peace deal.
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“We had an extremely productive meeting. Many points were agreed to,” Trump said, speaking second.
“There are just a very few that are left,” he added. “Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant. But we have a very good chance of getting there. We didn’t get there, but we have a good shot of getting there.”
Trump concluded the briefing by offering that there could be a follow-up summit after this meeting.
“Next time in Moscow,” Putin joked in English.
“That’s an interesting one. I don’t know. I think I may get a little heat on that one. But I could see it possibly happening,” Trump responded.
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